I'm Gonna Miss You Too
by TiburonWriter
Summary: VERY loosely based on the best romantic comedy of all time, "When Harry Met Sally." Sequel to "Stop the Wedding" but can be more or less read as a stand alone. Blaine takes a gap year and Seb starts at Stanford. We track our boys for about 2.5 years of college. Let the comedy and angst ensue! And romance of course. But if you're looking for smut, so far it's just in Chapter 13...
1. Road Trip!

**_For those of you who don't have time or inclination to read the prequel (archiveofourownDOTorg/works/1011620/) to this fic, here is a great summary of it written by beta readers Dori and Thomas, in the style of the canon lead-in segments, "Here's what you missed on Glee."_**

_So, here's what you missed in "Stop the Wedding." Sebastian shows up to see Blaine on the day before the Klaine wedding and is all "I'm still in love with you and you're too young to get married," yada yada yada" Blaine is like "Seriously? You're telling me this now?!" The Meerkat hits where it hurts when he says Blaine tries to be too perfect and wants Klaine to be too perfect so Blaine gets all mad at him. But then Sebastian brings a touching wedding present, including a sweet duet they sang when Klaine was broken up. So Blaine feels all confused and starts drinking a lot. Then Jesse St. James, who is there to write an article on Rachel, flirts with a very drunk Blaine. Wait, What? Yep it turns out Jesse swings both ways and takes a liking to Blaine; just like everyone else on Glee._

_Then Cooper, who has apparently became a big Sebastian stan (when Seb hung out with the Andersonbros while Klaine was broken up), urges Blaine to clear the air with Seb before the wedding. So Blaine goes to Sebastian's house and overhears him sing a super romantic song with Blaine's name in it; and if that was not enough to make his heart wrench, Blaine then hears Sebastian passionately tell Nick the Warbler all the reasons why he is in love with Blaine. This brings Blaine to tears and now he is even more confused._

_So then Blaine gets super crazy drunk and Jesse St. James tries to seduce him the night before the wedding and then Blaine blacks out and remembers nothing the next morning. The next morning Burt and Kurt discuss if the wedding is the best idea, and both Kurt AND Blaine suspect something happened with Jesse. Sebastian tries to cover for Blaine but Kurt's not buying it. Finally just when Blaine is about to confess to something he did not do, Jesse shows up to tell everyone that nothing happened._

_Sam is his awesome self and has a heart to heart with Blaine. Kurt and Blaine have a heart to heart and mutually decide to call off the wedding and break up. They decide if they are meant to be they will find their way back to each other. Although Sebastian is like totally in love with Blaine he puts those feelings aside and tries to just be a comfort to Blaine who is devastated after all of this. But at least he delivered on the fic title! And that's what you missed in "Stop The Wedding!"_

* * *

"Do you really need this scrub thingy?" Sam groaned.

"God forbid they give up on their gayface skincare ritual," Sebastian muttered as he threw a backpack violently into the backseat of his car.

Only Nick waited politely, without a word.

"He should be here any minute, guys." Blaine said with his big, pleading eyes. "He said that he was going to be here before eight o'clock."

A moment later, the Hummel SUV was seen coming down the road and Blaine exhaled in relief.

Kurt climbed out of the car and handed Blaine a tube of boutique spa facial scrub. "Here you go! I can only imagine how hard it would be to find this while on a road trip through the Heartland."

"Thanks," Blaine said, eyes shining.

Sam, Nick and Sebastian stood waiting. Sam and Nick looked awkward; Sebastian looked bored.

"Hi guys," Kurt said, looking a bit uneasy.

"Hey," Sam said with an uncomfortable smile.

"Hi Kurt," Nick waved awkwardly.

"Hello, Kurt…" Sebastian said without expression, arms crossed.

Kurt eyed Sebastian warily. "Well, I should let you guys go. Goodbye, Nick and Sebastian. Good luck in college. Sam, have fun on this trip and in Scotland – take care of Blaine. My dad said he could pick you guys up at the airport when you come back, just email him the flight info. I'll be back in New York by then."

"Goodbye, Kurt." Sebastian saluted him with a smirk and got in his BMW.

"Thanks man," Nick gave him a quick hug and jumped into his car.

Kurt hugged Sam hard. "Bye, Sam - I'm excited for your big adventure with Blaine." Sam hugged him back, then got into Sebastian's car.

Blaine turned to face Kurt.

Sam said apprehensively to Sebastian, "Uh, Sebastian you know we don't have to wait for them."

"Whatever," Sebastian said in a monotone, glaring out his open window at Kurt and Blaine.

Kurt and Blaine took each other's hands.

Nick's head popped back out of the car and he spoke loudly. "Hey Blaine, I didn't even ask you, do you want to drive the first shift?"

Blaine answered without taking his eyes off of Kurt's face. "No, you're there already, you can start."

Nick called again, "Blaine what do you want to listen to first?"

Blaine ignored him.

Kurt said, "Be safe. Call me?"

Blaine squeezed his hand. "I'll call you as soon as I get there."

Sebastian swallowed and started looking pissed off.

Kurt said to Blaine with a concerned smile, "Call me from the road."

Sebastian rolled his eyes. He couldn't watch any more. The BMW pealed out of the driveway without warning, sending up gravel and causing Sam to yelp as he was nearly choked by his seatbelt.

Blaine and Kurt hugged. Nick leaned on the horn "accidentally," and Blaine got in. And they were off.

* * *

After settling in, Blaine drew a deep breath and said to Nick, "So…you said it should take us four days to get there, five if we decide to be more leisurely." He took a sip of his coffee. "Let's have a look at our options, assuming Sebastian is going to refuse to cancel the expensive hotel rooms he's picked along the way. Opening the map, he smiled slowly as the reality of their adventure sank in. "This should be pretty cool, actually. I'm glad Sam talked me into making this trip with you guys."

"Me too," Nick smiled. They proceeded to review the route and chat about what Nick's new life at USC might include. The plan was for Sam and Blaine to go down with him to get him settled after they all did some sightseeing in San Francisco and dropped off Sebastian at Stanford.

Nick and Blaine's old friendship was bolstered as they discussed their plans and then transitioned into singing along to "Moves Like Jagger." While they were belting out "Iko Iko" by the Belle Stars however, Blaine's phone buzzed with a text from Sam:

_ **SAM: ** _ _Dude, I'm dying over here. Sebastian has barely been talking to me this whole time - it's so awkward. And I just spilled like all of his coffee, so I'm pretty sure he's gonna kill me before we get to the next rest stop._

_ **BLAINE:** _ _ Oh no! Did he get it on his clothes? And yeah he's a kind grumpy until he has his coffee. Just hang in there until we can stop to get him more. Turn on some music – try some 80's rock._

_ **SAM: ** _ _We are already playing music, nothing is working. He barked at me to pick a song, so I tried to cheer him up with a little Eric Carmen…"Make Me Lose Control." Perfect road trip song, right? Who doesn't love that song?!_

_ **BLAINE: ** _ _Turn that off! 80's ROCK, not 80's pop! Big Country. Or anything by U2._

Blaine gave Nick the update and said worriedly, "I knew I should have gotten in the car with Seb for the first leg. He can be kind of a grouch in the morning. And there's no place around here that will have Courvoisier…"

Nick nodded in agreement. "Yeah, when we thought we could finish the trip planning this morning, we didn't really think it through, did we? Poor Sam. Sebastian is such a clean freak about his car AND his clothes. Then you add the caffeine withdrawal and it's gotta be a…"

"DISASTER," they said together.

Blaine groaned, imagining a stressed out Sam next to a Sebastian with steam coming out of his ears enduring "Make Me Lose Control." _[youtubeDOTcom/watch?v=LL12z7vHWn0]. _Blaine personally loved the song but he knew it was the kind of thing that would drive decaffeinated, spilled-upon Sebastian to a violent place:

"_I run a comb through my hair_  
_And step out in the street  
And the city's the color of flame  
In the mid-summer heat, oh yeah_

_Jennifer's got her daddy's car_  
_She's playing, 'Uptown' on the stereo  
We go cruisin' so close  
The way they did long ago, my darling _

_Turn the radio up for that sweet sound  
Hold me close never let me go  
Keep this feelin' alive  
Make me lose control, baby, baby_

_When I look in your eyes, I go crazy_  
Fever's high with the lights down low  
_Take me over the edge  
Make me lose control"_

_ **SAM:** _ _ Okay Big Country seems to have chilled him out a little. You still have to switch places with me!_

_ **BLAINE:** _ _ When we see a coffee place. I'm sure we'll see one soon. Start researching it on your phone and tell Seb what his options are. Don't take any of this personally. He's just cranky until he gets his coffee._

Blaine updated Nick again. "I swear you are like the only person who knows how to handle Sebastian when he gets like that," Nick said. "He really came close to pulling off Warbler homicide a few times when we travelled to perform."

"I don't mind," Blaine said with fondness. "It's the least I can do, he's been great at supporting me these last several weeks since my…almost-wedding." He still felt a pang when he had to say it out loud.

Nick patted his shoulder. "So you and Sebastian have spent a lot of time together since then, huh?"

"Almost every day," Blaine said with a small smile. "He's just been one of the easiest people to be with – he's been really sweet in his own way, and more relaxed than everyone else. My parents, Tina, even Sam have been just a little nervous or overbearing a lot of the time. Honestly, Seb has been my best friend lately, listening to me about everything. Plus we've pretty much lived at the lake everyday and managed to have some fun out there and even had some great talks about stuff besides all the wedding drama. Plus he was a huge help in researching my options for this year. He was so supportive when I was freaking out about declining NYADA, and then again after we figured out that all the top programs wouldn't take late admits. He was so calm and reassuring, and then he figured out that Scotland has some great second tier programs. He wanted me to be close enough to occasionally audition for West End shows down in London. I was resigning myself to second tier geographies like Chicago or Boston or San Francisco, but he said I should be near London if I didn't want to be auditioning in New York." He paused to confide, his voice shaking just the tiniest bit. "I'm really going to miss him."

Nick gave him a sympathetic smile, but didn't say anything. He thought about how easy it would have been for Sebastian to hook Blaine into spending the year in San Francisco, just 30 minutes from Stanford. He bit his lip and looked at the horizon, wondering whether his two friends would ever align.

* * *

When Sebastian had gotten his coffee and changed his shirt and pants, he appeared a bit calmer. Blaine joined him in the BMW anyway, giving Sam's shoulder a sympathetic squeeze as they switched places.

As they drove off, Blaine said with efficiency and dispatch, "So I made a timetable of the locations and times when we can change driving shifts."

Sebastian didn't comment.

"So what song would you like to hear first, Seb? We have to have an awesome soundtrack for our last few days together!"

Sebastian grunted and guzzled his coffee. "You pick a song. Anything but that godforsaken "Turn the Radio Up" song."

Blaine played some Jason Mraz, knowing it was Sebastian's favorite when he wanted to be mellow. The song he chose was one he knew Sebastian put on sometimes when his father was driving him up the wall:

[youtubeDOTcom/watch?v=tmoj0FnqFe8]

_Calm down_

_Deep breaths_

_And get yourself dressed instead_

_Of running around_

_And pulling on your threads_

_And breaking yourself up  
_

_If it's a broken part, replace it_

_If it's a broken arm, then brace it_

_If it's a broken heart, then face it  
_

_And hold your own_

_Know your name_

_And go your own way_

_Hold your own_

_Know your name_

_And go your own way  
_

_And everything will be fine  
_

_Hang on_

_Help is on the way_

_And stay strong_

_I'm doing everything_

_Hold your own _

_Know your name_

_And go your own way_

_Hold your own_

_Know your name_

_And go your own way_

_And everything, everything will be fine_

_Everything_

_Are the details in the fabric_

_Are the things that make you panic_

_Are your thoughts results of static cling?_

_Are the things that make you blow_

_Hell, no reason, go on and scream_

_If you're shocked it's just the fault_

_Of faulty manufacturing._

The problem was, Sebastian was already relatively calm. The song just took him to an even sadder, darker place than he already was.

In the passenger seat, Blaine was obliviously waxing both nostalgic and playful. "Mr. Sebastian Smythe," he said in his best reporter's voice, "We are at a momentous crossroads. Tell me the story of your life and what the most pivotal points were. Furthermore, tell me how did those pivotal points led you to this very spot on the interstate, headed for sunny California and one of the most prestigious universities in the world."

Sebastian turned to look at Blaine wearily. "You sound like a fucking admissions essay."

"We've got 4 days to kill before we hit San Francisco, take your time…" Blaine put his hands behind his head and his feet on the dashboard.

"Get your feet off my dash." Sebastian said, swatting at his legs. "And the story of my life isn't even going to get us out of Ohio because nothing's happened to me yet. That's why I'm going to California."

"So something can happen to you?" Blaine asked

"Yes."

"Like what?"

"Like…I can graduate from Stanford and work for a couple of years and get my MBA to make millions in the Silicon Valley and force those idiots to wear a proper suit to work every day."

"I think the reason those guys have made millions in the Silicon Valley has something to do with the fact that they refuse to wear a proper suit to work every day."

They sat in silence for a moment.

Sebastian gripped the steering wheel tightly and glared at the road. "Or maybe I'll hate it and I end up one of those middle manager guys with trust funds and oh-so-slight beer bellies and flashy cars, paintball addictions, and tacky designer clothes that are much too expensive for where they are in the corporate food chain."

Blaine smiled at him fondly. "You know that's not going to happen. If you hate it, you'll leave them all behind and do something else that you will inevitably excel at." He smiled again.

"Do you ever get tired of being so goddamned optimistic? You and Cooper, both of you! Your dad and mom seem so normal, but the two of you…it's like you have no dark side… if you were chicks you both would dot your i's with little hearts."

"SOMEONE'S still got the morning grumps," Blaine chided. He added with a pout, "And I have just as much of a dark side as the next person."

Sebastian retorted with a roll of his eyes, "Just because you can sing a Kelly Clarkson song about it? Please. When I buy a new book I always read the last page first. That way in case I die before I finish I know how it ends. That, Killer, is a dark side."

Blaine replied loftily, "Yes Seb, you have shown me your dark side on more than one occasion. But that doesn't mean you're deeper than me or anything. I mean...yes, basically I try to be a happy person ...but I don't see that there's anything wrong with that."

Sebastian grimly turned to look at him. "Of course you don't find anything wrong with that, you're too busy being happy to find anything." He stopped and searched for another argument. "Do you ever think about death?"

"Yes."

Sebastian sipped from this coffee again. "Sure you do, a fleeting thought that jumps in and out of the transient of your mind. I've spent hours, days..."

Blaine said with disdain, "And you think that makes you a better person."

Sebastian shrugged. "Look, when the shit comes down I'm gonna be prepared and you're not, that's all I'm saying."

"And in the meantime you're gonna ruin your whole life waiting for it," Blaine said irritably.

* * *

"You're wrong."

Sebastian was calm and firm. "I'm not wrong, he would never take her back."

Blaine threw a hand up wildly. "You're wrong! I can't believe I finally got you to watch _Gone with the Wind_ with me, and you don't even get it."

Sebastian shook his head. "He knows that as long as that Ashley guy is around, he's always going to play second fiddle. And now Melanie's dead, and Ashley's going to get over his grief and stop teasing Scarlett finally. So of course he's not going to take her back. She's too exhausting. Plus she reminds him of Bonnie."

Blaine argued passionately, "But it's so obvious when she turns around that she loves him more than Ashley!"

Sebastian shrugged. "I don't know, she just looked like she was feeling guilty to me."

Blaine couldn't believe his ears. "How could you not see it on her face?!"

"I did see it. I saw guilt."

"ARRRGH!"

* * *

"2 more hours 'til dinner?"

"Yep."

"You think Blaine's yelling at him yet?"

"Yeah."

"Heh."

* * *

"I understand."

"What?"

Sebastian parked and got out of the car. "Nothing."

"What? Just tell me." Blaine said.

Sebastian waved his hand dismissively as he locked the car. "Forget about it."

Blaine was increasingly curious. "Seb come on, forget about what?"

Sebastian shook his head. "It's not important."

"No, just tell me."

Sebastian opened the restaurant door and didn't bother lowering his voice. "It's just obvious from what you were saying that you have never had really great sex."

Blaine blushed furiously. Sam and Nick walked in behind them and raised their eyebrows at him.

"Four, please." Sebastian said to the hostess.

They were seated immediately, but Blaine was glad that Nick and Sam headed for the restroom right away.

Blaine argued in a fierce whisper, "Yes I have."

Sebastian looked at the menu and asked absentmindedly, "Yes you have what?"

"Yes I have had great sex!" Blaine said violently under his breath.

Sebastian looked at him with amusement. "No, you haven't."

Blaine said too loudly, "It just so happens that I have had plenty of good sex."

The whole restaurant looked at Blaine.

Blaine ducked his head so low he nearly knocked it at the table. Sebastian laughed. "With Kurt?"

Of course with Kurt!" Blaine whispered.

"No, no, you did not have great sex with ... Kurt Hummel."

"Shh! I did too."

Sebastian laughed. "No you didn't. If you need a hideous woman's brooch for your garage sale blazer or a bronzer for your very tan hands, Kurt's your man. But thrusting and nailing you into the mattress is not Hummel's strong suit. Half of the problem is his name. He is named both after a pre-pubescent yodeling character and pottery figurines sold on EBay by overweight garage sale ladies. Anyone with a name like that categorically could not have had great sex with you. 'Do it to me, Kurt! You're an animal, Hummel! Ride me big Kurt!' It doesn't work." Sebastian chuckled again. "And weren't you afraid our little porcelain friend was going to break every time you tried to slam him into the headboard?"

Blaine was so appalled that he was rendered speechless.

"Oh, don't look at me that way, it doesn't take a genius to deduce that you topped like, what, 95% of the time?"

"SEBASTIAN!"

"What, was it more like 98 or 99%? Oh, and don't get me started on the faces he must have made during sex. I gotta hand it to you B, it must have been incredibly difficult for you to keep your hard-on while looking at that."

Nick and Sam returned to the table. They both looked with questioning eyes at Blaine, who was still blushing furiously and glowering at Sebastian. Sebastian stood up smirking and headed to the restroom without a word.

"What was that?" Sam asked.

"Nothing," Blaine huffed, crossing his arms.

"He's been kind of a jerk this whole trip, hasn't he?" Nick said, with a worried look.

Blaine sighed, "3 days running. I don't get it, we only have a couple of days before we have to say goodbye, and we should be having fun…"

Nick looked thoughtful. "You know, right before Sebastian's grandmother died, he almost stopped visiting her."

"What?" Blaine looked surprised. "I thought he was really close to both of his grandmothers."

"That's right," Nick said. "So I wasn't surprised that when he found out his late grandmother's health was declining, he got really cold and distant with all the guys. I figured he was starting to mourn. But then that same week, I found him in senior commons studying on Tuesday afternoon, at the time he always used to go visit her. I asked him why he wasn't going there, and he said some weird stuff about how his parents were going to visit her, and that he didn't really want to see her anyway because she could be a pain when she wasn't feeling well. It's like he was pushing her away because he knew he was going to lose her. I made him go anyway."

Sam looked baffled. "I totally lost you, man. What does this have to do with Blaine?"

"He's saying that he thinks Seb is being a shithead to me because he has to say goodbye to me this week." Blaine furrowed his brow. "But I don't know, Nick. I'm not his grandmother. And I think his royal highness is just is not built for roadtrips – the bad coffee, he's probably stiff from driving – it all just brings out the inner jackass that we all know has been a part of Sebastian Smythe since birth."

"Dude!" Sam interrupted, poking Blaine.

"What?" Blaine asked.

"Don't turn around too quick, but there is a guy behind and to the left of you…and he's totally checking you out."

Blaine turned around.

"Don't turn around so fast! And he's to my left, not yours!" Sam was aggravated.

"Hold on," Nick said calmly, "Let me confirm."

Nick stood up and glanced over before bending down to pretend to tie his shoe. "Oh Blaine, Sam is not exaggerating. He is absolutely checking you out. Who knew we'd find you an openly gay guy out here in Utah?"

"There are probably about as many of them in Utah as there are in Ohio," Blaine said dryly. He pretended to work a kink out in his neck so he could turn his head slightly to catch a glimpse of the man. "No."

"What do you mean, 'no?' Come on, you need a rebound guy!" Sam argued loudly. "We could totally just stop driving early and I could get a rollaway bed in Seb and Nick's room tonight!"

"Whoa whoa whoa! Oh my god, no!" Blaine cried. "No! And even if I did want a rebound guy, it wouldn't be him. Look at how he's dressed!"

Nick looked puzzled. "He's wearing a very nice polo and jeans, Blaine."

Sam added, "And he's got a good body. What's wrong with him? You want to do me and he's dressed nicer than I am most days."

Nick raised his eyebrows as Blaine glared at Sam.

"What, you don't want to do me anymore?!" Sam asked, almost disappointed.

Nick laughed, but then remembered Sebastian. "Um, Sam…"

"You're thinking about Kurt, aren't you? You aren't used to guys who don't dress like Kurt!" Sam was saying, with a serious look on his face. "Blaine you aren't gonna move on from this break-up if all you do is compare every guy to Kurt."

Sebastian returned to the table, giving an inquiring look to Blaine, who was looking guilty. Blaine looked away.

* * *

That afternoon, Blaine went running on a path along the river with Sam, who insisted that they get some "bro time."

By the time they hit about a mile, Blaine was sure Sam was beating around the bush about something. "Okay, tell me what you are dying to talk about," he said with a tiny bit of irritation.

"Ok. Ok Blaine, remember I'm just saying all of this out of love." Sam wrinkled his forehead, wishing that Santana was there to articulate things clearly and bluntly. "I'm worried about you. That whole thing back at the restaurant…"

"What, Sebastian acting like a tool?"

"No. This is about you. I am just thinking that you aren't really letting go of Kurt, even if you are supposed to be broken up. You guys were still holding hands when we left town. You call him, and only him, every night. You can't see that a guy is attractive even when two straight guys like Nick and me can see it. I'm worried about you, dude."

"Look Sam, I appreciate your concern. I'm fine. These things just take time. I mean Kurt was my best friend for three years, so I'm always going to want to have him in my life – even if it's just as friends for now." Blaine ran faster, fixing his gaze on at a tree across the water.

"I get it," panted Sam, trying to keep up. "And yes you should have him in your life – he's a great guy. Just not now." He looked at Blaine with a sympathetic smile. "You're never going to move on unless you stop talking to him for awhile. How will you ever be attracted to someone else if you are talking to Kurt every day?

Blaine didn't answer.

Sam continued. "Brittany and I decided to stop talking after we broke up, and yes it sucks. But Mercedes and I did too, and it turned out great. She and I talk all the time now, since we gave ourselves some distance."

"Well it's different…"

"It's not that different, man." Sam said, nearly bumping into a family carrying a kayak.

Blaine ran on without a word for a minute.

"And Blaine," he said seriously, "If you take a break from talking to Kurt to date other guys, it doesn't automatically mean that you and Kurt won't end up together."

Blaine's eyes filled with tears.

Sam didn't see them. "It's just if you keep talking to him every day, Kurt's going to constantly be kinda right there at the top of your mind. And that's gonna to keep you from thinking any other guy can be as great as him."

Blaine looked sad. "Well I doubt anyone else _can _be as great as him."

Sam slowed their pace. "You can't really know that unless you give some other guys – or at least one other guy – a fair shake. And you aren't giving anyone a chance if you're talking with Kurt all the time."

Blaine kept running, silently acknowledging his logic but not wanting to admit it.

"And hey, we can have fun doing this! I can be your wingman!" Sam looked thoughtful. "Oh wait, that will be hard, because they'll probably want me first, you know, because of my abs and stuff. Oh but that's okay, I'll lure them in, but because I'm straight they'll have to accept that they can't have me, so then I can hand them off to you!"

Blaine pushed him sideways into the river.

* * *

After dinner that night, Sam pulled Nick aside. "It worked! It took some convincing and I got some weird moss stuff in my shorts, but he's calling Kurt right now to cut off contact for awhile."

Nick was learning to just not ask Sam about certain things he said. "That's great! How'd you do it?"

"Oh I don't know, Blaine and I just have a good connection - we're like Wolverine and Cyclops!"

"Well ever since we got here, I can't even get Sebastian to sit still long enough for me to have a real conversation with him. He keeps taking off on me. So he's more like The Flash or something."

"Ooh, the Flash is awesome! Which one, Wally or Barry Allen?!"

"Sam, FOCUS."

"Sorry, dude. So no luck?"

"No, I only got to talk to him really fast, and he doesn't even think he's being a jerk to Blaine."

Sam suggested, "Maybe if you go with him on his run tomorrow morning...it worked for me." Then he stopped and grinned. "Of course you might not be able to keep up with him if he is The Flash!"

Nick rolled his eyes.

* * *

The hotel they stayed at for the last night of the road trip was the most expensive – Sebastian dropped upwards of $400/night for tricked-out suites, complaining that he wanted to sleep on a decent mattress. They had planned this and made sure they arrived by midafternoon to enjoy the hotel's spa amenities fully. Besides working out in the gym and getting massages, they were all eager to swim and lounge by the pool.

Sebastian came down from his shower first and immediately commandeered the last available cabana. Nick tossed his towel and IPad on the second chaise lounge in the cabana. "Yes, you have to share," he said with a pointed look at his friend.

Sam spread his towel down on the next chaise lounge over from Nick's, and Blaine sat down next to Sam's chaise at the edge of the group. He started applying sunblock, but Nick, Sam and Sebastian dove in the pool immediately.

Sam and Nick started swimming vigorously, splashing each other. Sebastian floated on his back, enjoying the stretch of his back muscles after the hours of driving.

After a minute or two of swimming, Nick felt a poke on his shoulder.

"Nick, look!" Sam said urgently as he tread water.

"What?" Nick whipped around to stare.

Sam grinned. "See, getting Blaine to stop talking to Kurt worked. Blaine's staring at Sebastian!"

Nick squinted to see why Blaine would be staring, and quickly surmised the reason. Sebastian had clearly just emerged out of the pool, and Nick had to admit that his Warbler buddy pretty much resembled a gratuitous eye-candy shot in any number of cheesy teen movies. Water was dripping from Sebastian's classically handsome profile, off his tanned, toned chest and broad shoulders, and down his well-muscled legs. It was enough to make Nick roll his eyes. Sebastian was all smooth, wet skin, strong muscles and relaxed confidence. His designer board shorts hung just low enough to highlight a light trail of golden brown body hair from his taut abs downwards, but not high enough to conceal hipbones Nick knew women fawned over. To top it off, Sebastian's perfectly tousled hair was glistening golden brown in the sunshine and there was a light swing in his walk as he crossed the deck barefoot past a group of college girls. He was a guy who knew what his assets were and wasn't too modest to swagger a bit because of them. Nick rolled his eyes again as Sebastian flashed the girls a charming smile, causing whispers and giggles in the face of his charisma.

"That cheeky fucker loves to pass for straight just for sport," Nick said with a laugh. "He pissed off most of the Dalton guys on a regular basis at the Crawford Country Day parties. He'd get bored, go charm all the girls, and then out himself, leaving the poor things too devastated to even look at the other guys. Or if any of the girls did give any of us the time of day, you knew they were comparing you to Mr. Rakishly Handsome Ratbastard over there."

Sam was focused on his best friend. Blaine was staring at Sebastian from afar, trying to be discreet but not able to restrain a faint smile on his face as he loosely gripped his sunblock. Sebastian pulled his towel from the shaded cabana and spread it out on a chaise lounge more directly in the sun. He lay down on his back, closing his eyes and flexing his biceps as he put his hands behind his head. Blaine pulled his knees up to his chest, visibly sighed, and continued to watch, almost as if in a trance.

"Yep, now that he's not talking to Kurt anymore, he's totally checking Sebastian out," Sam laughing with delight.

Nick laughed, "Yeah, but that's been goin' on for awhile. If you asked me, those two staring at each other has never had anything to do with if Blaine was talking with Kurt or not. Seeing Seb stare at Blaine is a pretty hilarious sight, too. Mr. Slick is all fond smiles and gooey eyes - that is, when he doesn't look like he's running a porn movie starring him and Blaine through his head." Nick mused, "Sebastian and Blaine always did have chemistry, from day one. But I will give you this - I don't think Blaine's ever let himself stare for that long!"

Sam clapped his hands, scattering drops of water. "So we're moving forward! Awesome!"

* * *

The next morning, Sebastian was late coming down, having gone for an extra long run which translated into a later shower.

"I'm telling you," Nick said, "I think he's being a douchebag because he's freaking out about saying goodbye to you."

"I still don't think so," Blaine argued. "I still think he's just been grouchy from the travel. He seems a little nicer now that we're at this nice hotel, right? Last night he didn't even complain about the old movie we picked from Redbox."

"That's only because he thinks Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid were absolutely a gay couple. Didn't he tell you he owns that movie?"

Sam said, "Oh man, now it's like a different movie in my head now!"

"In fact," Nick smiled slyly, "I think he's said on more than on one occasion that Blaine would be the perfect Sundance Kid to his Butch…and…well I'll spare you the details."

Blaine blushed.

Sebastian approached the table. "You guys look like you were just talking about sex. That's Blaine's sex-talk blush." He cocked his head to one side. "Are we still discussing what a pathetic lover Hummel was?"

Blaine and Nick reproached him at once: "SEBASTIAN!"

"What? It's so obvious, the way he carries himself, even in the way he dances. He's stiff in the hips. And he's obviously got no cardio stamina."

Blaine blushed red again.

"Sebastian, they just broke their _engagement, _like 5 minutes ago!" Nick admonished.

"I just want reassure him. So he knows that 'it gets better'!" Sebastian said, looking wicked. "For example, it would be light years better with me."

"SEBASTIAN!"

Sebastian responded without looking up from his menu. "I'm not hitting on Blaine! You three are like the Sisters of Perpetual Prudery. Can't a man enlighten you of his sexual prowess without it being a come-on? I mean, lacrosse alone gives me stamina for three men! Not to mention my morning runs, tennis, fencing, golf, the odd pick up soccer or baseball game…" Sebastian mentally checked off his athletic pursuits, but he could feel his three friends still looking at him with derision. He looked up innocently at them. "Alright, alright, let's just say just for the sake of argument that it was a come-on. What do you want me to do about it? I take it back, ok? I take it back."

Blaine folded his arms, glaring at him. "You can't take it back."

"Why not?" Sebastian asked, sticking out his lower lip.

"Because it's already out there," Nick interjected.

"Oh no! What are we supposed to do, call the cops? It's already out there!" Sebastian mocked. Nick smacked him upside the head. Sebastian shoved him back, grinning.

Blaine held up a hand. "Just stop. Just let it lie, ok?"

Sebastian tried to look serious. "Sure. Let it lie. I can do that. Let it lie, let it lie…" He paused, then grinned again. "Want to help me christen my Stanford dorm bed?"

"SEBASTIAN!"

"See what I did? I didn't let it lie." Sebastian laughed. Nick started pummeling him and Sebastian beat back at him.

"Yes, Blaine – Sebastian seems SO much nicer now," Nick said, shaking his head.

Blaine sighed. "Sebastian, I just broke up with Kurt. I'm trying to move on, and it is not easy for me. Can you just be my friend?"

Sebastian was finally chastened by Blaine's tone. "Okay, okay, okay," he said, patting Blaine's shoulder. "Sorry," he muttered.

* * *

While Sebastian checked out at the hotel front desk, the others conducted a serious round of Rock, Paper, Scissors to decide seating for the first driving shift of the day. Blaine lost. "Yes! Blaine has to ride with Sebastian!" Nick and Sam chest-bumped.

After about 15 minutes on the road, Sebastian was still sipping his coffee meditatively. "You realize of course that I can't actually 'just be your friend.'"

"We're already friends," Blaine said, sounding puzzled. "Though some days I don't remember why," he added, with a punitive glare.

"I just mean that now you're available, Killer – we can't _just_ be friends." Sebastian paused to choose his words carefully. "What I'm saying is... and this is not a come-on in any way, shape or form…what I'm saying is that two available gay guys can't 'just be friends' because the sex part always gets in the way."

Blaine was adamant."That's not true, I have a number of male gay friends and there's is no sex involved."

"No you don't."

"Yes I do."

Sebastian smirked. "You only think you do."

"You're saying I'm having sex with these men without my knowledge?"

"No, what I'm saying is they all want to have sex with you."

Blaine shook his head and blushed. "They do not."

"Oh yes they do." Sebastian looked at Blaine and gave him the onceover appraisal he hadn't given him since Blaine got engaged to Kurt.

Blaine blushed again. "How do you know?"

"Because no gay man can really be friends with another gay guy he finds attractive - he always wants to have sex with him, which gets in the way of a really deep friendship. Like how much can you really be paying attention to someone's story about their mother or how they bombed their midterm when all you can think about is whether you can talk them into making out in the back of your car between classes?"

Blaine gaped at him.

Sebastian continued calmly. "I mean even 'just being friends' with attractive straight guys can be a problem. Come on, look at you and Sam. You totally want to jump him, and that made your friendship awkward in the beginning, right?" He smirked triumphantly. "And what about Nick? I saw you checking out his ass yesterday."

Blaine didn't deign to confirm any of these half-truths. "So you're saying that a gay man CAN be friends with a man he finds UNattractive?"

"No, we pretty much want to nail them too," Sebastian laughed.

"What if they don't want to have sex with you?"

"Doesn't matter, because the sex thing is already out there so the friendship is ultimately doomed and that is the end of the story."

"Wait, so when I was with Kurt, we could be friends because I wasn't available; but now that I _am_ available, we can't be as close?"

"Well you and I are a special case, Killer. Any respect for monogamy went out the window the minute I saw you throwing me blushing schoolboy looks during that 'Uptown Girl' rehearsal. I couldn't really "let it lie" with you," he laughed. So no, we couldn't _just_ be friends. But I thought we did pretty good with the whole friendship thing anyway, eh B?

Sebastian drained his coffee cup and continued. "And yeah, now things might get even more problematic because you know, once I get used to the idea that you're available, I might start thinking again about slamming you up against a wall and having my way with you – which would be very distracting while you are pouring your heart out to me about why Sam is bugging the crap out of you as your roommate. And once you get out of your "Blaine+Kurt 4ever" headspace, you will probably start thinking about me dragging you into the nearest closet and well, LETTING me have my way with you," he smirked.

Blaine was blushing thinking about the visuals Sebastian had provided. Then he remembered to be indignant. "You are ridiculous. If you can get your mind out of the gutter I don't see why we can't just be friends while I am in Scotland and you are at Stanford."

"Oh Killer, calm down. Sure, that's possible. I've grown accustomed to your face after all," he said with a charming grin. "BUT, if you didn't want to be friends anymore because you can't stop thinking about me having my way with you naked on a California beach…I would understand."

"SEBASTIAN!" Blaine spluttered.

"What?"

"Come on, you can't seriously not know why I'm upset."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Killer. I'm just calling it like it is." Sebastian glanced at him, then turned to the Ipod dock to hit "shuffle."

Blaine fumed for a few minutes, then started texting Sam.

_BLAINE: He's being so irritating again! What is wrong with him?!_

_SAM: What did he say this time?_

_BLAINE: That no two gay guys can just be friends because one of them always wants to have sex, so that gets in the way._

_SAM: Is that true?  
_

_BLAINE: Of course it's not!_

_SAM: Ok._

_BLAINE: But it's not just this morning. I'm upset because he's been a douche on this whole trip. It's like he's a different person than the guy I've been hanging out with for the last month!_

_SAM: I'm glad you said something - I didn't want to._

Blaine fumed for a few more moments, formulating a response.

_SAM: Nick says to remind you that he thinks Sebastian's being a jerk because he's having trouble saying goodbye to you. _

_BLAINE: I still think he was just born obnoxious. But ask Nick to elaborate._

_SAM: Ok hold on._

_SAM: He says Seb is pushing you away because he thinks it will be easier to say goodbye if you're pissed off at him. That way instead of being sad, you can just say good riddance to each other. _

_BLAINE: Tell Nick that I think he's reading a lot into all this. But I'll think about what he said._

Blaine sat thinking about Nick's explanation for several minutes. He glanced furtively at Sebastian's serious profile from time to time.

Then "Wonderland" came up on the Ipod Shuffle:

_There's a little box in the corner_  
_Wrapped nicely to entice you and draw you in-_

Sebastian reached over and skipped to a Justin Timberlake song.

He skipped their duet. Blaine looked at him and turned off the stereo. He said quietly, "Seb, I'm going to miss you. It's going to be tough to say goodbye when we get to Stanford."

Sebastian didn't take his eyes off the road. "I don't do weepy goodbyes, Killer."

"I kind of don't know what I'm going to do without you," Blaine continued, his face serious. "I don't know how I would have gotten through the last month without you. And if it weren't for you, I might be in a marriage right now for all the wrong reasons." He gulped. "I can't tell you how grateful I am to have you in my life. You're really important to me and I'm sad we aren't going to be able to hang out all the time anymore."

Sebastian didn't answer.

Blaine wiped a tear away and tried to smile. "Don't pretend that you aren't going to miss me too," he said, nudging Sebastian.

"Don't touch me while I'm driving, it's dangerous."

"Come on, say it. You're going to miss me!" Blaine teased.

"I'm not going to miss you and your food wrappers all over my car," Sebastian pointed at a Pringles can on the floor.

Blaine laughed. "And don't think that being a jerk is going to make saying goodbye any easier."

Sebastian was quiet again.

Blaine picked up the Pringles can and shoved it into their designated trash bag. "You're going to miss the old movies I make you watch."

Sebastian's eyes flickered from the road to look at Blaine with disdain. "I liked old movies long before I met you. Cary Grant, Bogart, James Dean, Hitchcock. Just not the chick flicks you watch."

"Hey! I don't just watch romantic comedies! And anyway you liked Roman Holiday, and all the Katherine Hepburn movies I showed you."

Sebastian scoffed. "She was a badass. That has nothing to do with you."

"You're going to miss messing up my hair. And spoiling me with free coffees and pastries. And you are definitely going to miss me making you my amazing chicken artichoke pizzas!"

"They were making me fat."

"And you're going to miss watching the Daily Show together and arguing about Charlie Rose and Hardball every week with me."

"Only because you won't let me yell at the TV."

"And you are going to miss letting me beat you in tennis, and you are going to miss gloating over how many more skips you can skip stones in the lake."

"You are pathetically bad at it for someone who grew up near Alum Lake."

And you're going to miss throwing me in the lake…I KNOW you're going to miss that!"

"Okay, I'll give you the last one. But if you start singing 'My Heart Will Go On,' I will pull over and make you ride with those two morons behind us."

Blaine was triumphant, and reached over to ruffle Sebastian's hair.

"I said don't touch me," Sebastian said, batting him away.

Blaine rolled his eyes and turned the stereo back on, switching to the CD player so he could put in his Carole King Greatest Hits CD, which he knew Sebastian secretly liked. He knew what song he wanted to play for Sebastian, but tactfully decided to not play it first. So only after a couple of other songs, "Now and Forever" began playing and Blaine looked at Sebastian fondly, wondering if he would reach over and turn it off.

He didn't. So Blaine turned the radio up:

_Now and forever, you are a part of me_  
_And the memory cuts like a knife_  
_Didn't we find the ecstasy, didn't we share the daylight  
_ _When you walked into my life_

_Now and forever, I'll remember_  
_All the promises still unbroken_  
_And think about all the words between us  
_ _That never needed to be spoken_

_We had a moment, just one moment_  
_That will last beyond a dream, beyond a lifetime_  
_We are the lucky ones_  
_Some people never get to do all we got to do  
_ _Now and forever, I will always think of you_

_Didn't we come together, didn't we live together_  
_Didn't we cry together_  
_Didn't we play together, didn't we love together  
_ _And together we lit up the world_

_I miss the tears, I miss the laughter_  
_I miss the day we met and all that followed after_  
_Sometimes I wish I could always be with you_  
_The way we used to do_  
_Now and forever, I will always think of you_  
_Now and forever, I will always be with you_

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Please drop a word or two to give me some feedback! I am knew at this and would love hear both what you thought could have been better and what you liked versus what you loved. Thanks so much for joining this fun ride!**


	2. Top of the Mark

At lunch later that day, Nick grabbed Sebastian by the elbow as soon as Blaine and Sam ran across the street to eat at In 'n' Out. "Hey…what happened to you guys?"

"What do you mean?" Sebastian asked coolly, opening the door to the diner.

"All morning! First Blaine is texting Sam about what a dillhole you're being, and then we get nothing for hours until just now before we pulled off the freeway."

Sebastian shrugged. "I guess we were listening to music pretty loudly, so we didn't hear our phones."

Nick said impatiently, "You know what I mean. Where are things with you two? You've been a jerk to him during this whole trip! Is he even speaking to you anymore?"

Sebastian sat down in the booth, giving the hostess a polite nod. "Of course he's speaking with me. Everything's fine."

Nick spoke with genuine concern. "You don't look fine. You haven't seemed fine on this whole trip. You're distant, meaner than usual (which is really saying something), and well, a little sad. Are you okay?"

Sebastian turned on him, temperature rising. "Yes, I'm okay, except for the fact that you can't seem to mind your own damn business."

Nick was undeterred. "It IS my business, because if I don't do something now, I'll have to listen to you in a couple of weeks ranting and raving about all the useless dipshits and injustices in your life, even though I'll know that you're really just bitter that you didn't leave things in a good place Blaine."

Sebastian was growing exasperated. "Duvall, who says I'm even going to want to talk to you in a couple of weeks? And enough with the pop psychology…"

Nick stopped and took a breath. "Look Seb, I know it's hard to think about having to say goodbye to Blaine – "

"Nick! I told you I don't need your dim-witted attempts at being a shrink." Sebastian barked. "You sound just like Blaine, dragging out this goodbye business. What the hell do you people want, a tickertape parade? You guys are leaving me at Stanford on Friday. Then he's going to Scotland. That's all there is to it. What's the point of having a fucking Kabbalah circle about it?"

"Seb, you don't have to talk about it," Nick said heatedly. "But stop acting like saying goodbye isn't going to be hard, and definitely stop acting like you don't care about Blaine the way I know you do. He deserves better than that, after putting up with your crap for so long. You've been a prick to him and to all of us ever since we started this trip. But you've still got four days to enjoy San Francisco with him. Don't ruin your own opportunity. Enjoy your time with Blaine now while you have him with you – otherwise you're gonna regret it."

Sebastian was looking out the window. "Are you finished?" he asked, rolling his eyes.

"Yes," Nick smiled. "And that will be five cents for my psychiatric services."

Sebastian threw a menu at him.

* * *

They arrived at their San Francisco hotel late that night, just in time for room service and a welcome early bedtime after ten hours of driving. Nick and Blaine decided to switch places so Blaine would share a room with Sebastian for some "quality time." Sebastian shook his head as he unpacked his bag. "Yes, watching you brush your teeth is just like running through a field of heather with you."

"Oh, shut up." Blaine said, kicking his shoes off. "You know you want to hang out with me even more now that we're on the real part of our vacation." He fell back on the bed and sighed happily. "It's going to be so great to stay put in one place for four nights in a row," he said, stretching out on his downy comforter. "And I'm so glad you booked this incredible hotel."

"Of course we had to stay at the Mark," said Sebastian, as he slid t-shirts into a drawer. "It's a cultural landmark in this city – the United Nations was founded here. It's a classic. We stayed here the couple of times I came here as a kid. There's nothing else like it."

"Aw, Sebastian Smythe is getting all nostalgic!"

Sebastian beaned him with a pair of socks.

After watching The Daily Show and part of an old movie while they ate and finished unpacking, Blaine read his GQ, Vogue and a comic book while Sebastian read an Alexander Hamilton biography. "You are such a nerd," Blaine teased him. Sebastian retorted, "You're one to talk. The Green Lantern? At least pick a comic book hero with real superpowers. That one relies on his _jewelry_ to get by – pathetic."

"I'm gonna miss you too, Seb." Blaine grinned.

It became a thing for the next couple of days: Sebastian insulting or deflecting, Blaine replying with the same statement.

"You're so embarrassing with that umbrella. This is FOG, not rain."

"I'm gonna miss you too, Seb."

"God you're such a hobbit – let me just get that for you."

"I'm gonna miss you too, Seb."

"Man, I love wearing your hoodies when I forget mine. What will I do without them in Scotland?"

"You will leave your hair gel muck in someone else's hoodies."

"I'm gonna miss you too, Seb."

In spite of his residual crabbiness, everyone could tell that Sebastian was starting to have fun. He was the first to rise on Tuesday, dragging Nick and Blaine on a drive to Ocean Beach for a run. On the ferry to Alcatraz that went under the Golden Gate Bridge, he asked the tour guide a lot of questions about the history and architectural details of the landmark. Later, he scared Blaine and Sam out of their skins in one of the prison cells. It was the first time they had heard Sebastian's genuine laugh all week.

* * *

Wednesday started with a driving tour of the city. Sebastian got so annoyed driving on the one way streets downtown that Nick made him get out at a red light and change places with him. They ended at a museum in Golden Gate Park. After the museum they threw a Frisbee around and picnicked in the park afterwards. It was a very warm September day and everyone at the park seemed to be in shorts - the women in skimpy tops and many of the men shirtless. All four of the Ohio visitors stripped their shirts off as well and lay on blankets the hotel had provided them for their picnic. "I LOVE California," Sam said, laying back on his elbows and eyeing a gorgeous brunette walking by in a bikini top and shorts.

Blaine lay on his stomach next to Sebastian, who lay on his back, eyes closed as he sunned himself. He studied the widely spaced beauty spots dotting Sebastian's neck, shoulders, and toned chest until he realized he was staring. (_Author's note: for a peek at what Blaine is drooling over, see the archiveoftheirown version of this story or imgurDOTcom/JW6lNCsDOTjpg_) He quickly sat up. He surveyed the scene with Sam, noting the many families and gay couples walking by. "This is amazing," he said. "This is seriously like the best city in the world: all the culture and history, the adorable Victorian houses, the architecture like City Hall, the Opera House, and the Courthouse. Plus the food is amazing – there are so many healthy choices. It's got everything you could ask for in a city – a real cultural life, a rich history…but it's not so big and impersonal like New York. It's cozy. And the weather is better. And it's so ethnically diverse, and there are so many parks…"

"Killer, you are going to turn into a Fodor guidebook if you don't stop soon." Sebastian said dryly.

"I'm gonna miss you too, Seb." Blaine continued without missing a beat. "I've never seen so many gay couples holding hands without a care in the world about it, or so many gay couples with adorable children. I feel like I'm on Mars…or in heaven. I read that during Gay Pride this year, the city clerks worked on a Sunday so they could have a speed-marriage circuit – a booth with justices of the peace and ministers, and the clerks running back and forth from the city hall printers to the booth cranking out marriage licenses on the spot. How great is that?"

"That is why I wanted to come to California," Sebastian said. "The rest of the country just has their heads up their asses."

"We're gonna miss you too, Seb." Sam and Blaine said together.

* * *

Thursday was the last day they had planned to be in San Francisco. Blaine felt somewhat emotional all day, knowing it was his last with Sebastian. The plan for the next two days seemed to loom large – Friday morning they would move Sebastian into his dorm and Sam, Blaine and Nick would drive all day to reach Cooper's house in Hollywood by nightfall. Saturday they would move Nick into his dorm and in time for the early arrivals orientation mixer that was Saturday night. Then Cooper would play host for Sam and Blaine's visit to UCLA and other Los Angeles tourist spots.

Sebastian wasn't pushing Blaine away any longer, but he was more stoic than he had been all week. So the last day in San Francisco would have been a good one for a structured or highly distracting activity, like a guided tour or an amusement park. Unfortunately Sebastian abhorred tour guides in general and Nick was queasy on rollercoasters, so Blaine had planned for them to just spend the day navigating the city by streetcar bus and leisurely wandering historic and fascinating neighborhoods on foot. At least Blaine was kept busy quoting from his guidebook all day, which meant Sebastian was somewhat occupied with giving him a hard time about it.

In the end, Blaine was pleased that they managed to have a reasonably pleasant day. He personally found himself falling more in love with San Francisco with every step they took. In the morning they found and visited both the hippie Haight-Ashbury neighborhood and the historic Mission Dolores church before noon. Even Sebastian had to laugh after Sam had to greet a couple of church nuns while high on a pot brownie.

After lunch they split, Nick and Sebastian checking out the modern art museum while Blaine and Sam excitedly dashed off to the Cartoon Art Museum in the bustling South of Market district. After reuniting, they took a look at the theatre district, the gay Castro neighborhood, and a stop to both Baker's and China Beach rounded out the day. By the day's end of course, Sebastian had them all being whisked between neighborhoods in taxicabs, as he had lost patience with buses and trolleys.

Nick was the group's self-appointed photographer, using his expensive camera to get shots of Sam and the nuns, Blaine grinning in front of theater posters, and Sebastian casually browsing a Castro sex shop.

As the day wore on and the end of the trip became even closer, Blaine clung to Sebastian more and more. And somewhat to his surprise, Sebastian let him. Blaine shyly slipped his hand in his from time to time, and Sebastian bore no complaint. Blaine rested his head on Sebastian's shoulder on the streetcar rides and leaned against his chest while waiting at bus stops.

If Sebastian felt conflicted by any of this, he didn't show it.

And even if he had, he had gotten over it by the time they reached China Beach. When Nick asked them to pose for a photo, Sebastian was the one wrapping his arms around Blaine from behind. Nick made a mental note to not forget to send the photo to both of them.

So Nick and Sam begged off Blaine's invitation to go dancing with them in the Castro for their last night in the city. They knew that it was really a courtesy offer. "The worst kind of third wheel to be is the third wheel to two dudes," Sam said sagely to Nick.

The alcohol, music and buzzing energy of the club helped Sebastian's mindset that night. The dull ache he felt whenever he thought about parting from Blaine the next day almost went completely away with a few Jack and Cokes and a lot of grinding with Blaine on the dance floor. He alternated between closing his eyes and feeling the music pulsate through him and opening them again to take in the beauty that was Blaine.

_[from youtubeDOTcom/watch?v=kKuzyO0WykI]_

_Come to the back  
__Go ahead, be gone with it  
__VIP  
__Go ahead, be gone with it  
__Drinks on me  
__Go ahead, be gone with it  
__Let me see what you're twerking with  
__Go ahead, be gone with it  
__Look at those hips  
__Go ahead, be gone with it  
__You make me smile  
__Go ahead, be gone with it  
__Go ahead child  
__Go ahead, be gone with it  
__And get your sexy on  
__Go ahead, be gone with it_

More than a few times when he opened his eyes he found Blaine looking up at him, shining with happiness. Often Blaine would even pull him closer and bury his face in Sebastian's neck while they danced. The smell of Blaine's sweat and cologne and the feel of Blaine melting into his neck was pure bliss. All of this plus Blaine's flirty smiles and teasing dance moves were enough to make Sebastian desperate to kiss Blaine until he wouldn't be able to stand upright anymore and drag him to the back room to fuck him until he wouldn't know his own name.

But he knew better. He knew that Blaine's heart was still in pieces, even if he had stopped talking to Hummel. He knew that Blaine was feeling very grateful for his support in the last several weeks and was feeling emotional about parting ways the next day. And he knew that if there was anything he had learned over the years, it was how to protect himself. And his last night with Blaine Anderson in San Francisco was not going to be any exception.

So he put to use the discipline borne of all of his ambitious pursuits and every ounce of the steely resolve that he had developed to withstand his father's heavy-handed criticism. He didn't let himself get too drunk, and he wouldn't let Blaine get too drunk either. And besides allowing himself the pleasure of encircling Blaine's waist and occasionally guiding his hips while they danced, he kept his hands to himself.

In spite of the fact that a large portion of the evening was spent fighting every sexual impulse he had, Sebastian was surprisingly happy that night. After all, Blaine without sex was still infinitely better than no Blaine at all. Because at last there was no Kurt, no glee club feud, no cheating angst, no engagement and no wedding drama. There was nothing, for once, between him and Blaine. Tonight Blaine's dark curls, which his sweat had unleashed from the gel; his big hazel eyes; his long eyelashes; his beautiful face; his graceful moves - were all his to enjoy. Blaine's sweet sexiness, his endearing enthusiasm, his adorable laughter, his loving kindness - all of Blaine, was his alone. At least for tonight.

Blaine was clearly enjoying his company as well. They both kept just enough alcohol in their system to keep the worry about tomorrow at bay, so they laughed most of the night about everything and anything. Even when they flagged a cab back to the hotel at around 1AM, they were still boisterous and twinkling at each other. So at the hotel when they reached their floor and stepped out of the elevator, Sebastian had an idea of how to top off the evening.

"Wait."

"What?" Blaine asked.

"Just wait right here by the elevator. I'll be right back."

Blaine waited, amused and baffled at the same time.

Sebastian returned wearing a fresh collared shirt and one of his well-tailored blazers. He carried Blaine's navy one.

"Oh no Seb, I'm not going out again. My feet are killing me!"

"We're not going out," Sebastian said mischievously. He pressed the elevator button.

"Then what are we doing?" Blaine asked, laughing as he allowed himself to be shepherded into the elevator again. "Do you know about a rave in the hotel somewhere? Why do we need blazers?"

"Because we represent Dalton on every occasion," Sebastian said with a smile. "And because I think this place might have a dress code." He pressed the button in the elevator labeled, "Top of the Mark."

"What does that mean?" Blaine asked. "I was wondering what that button was for."

"We're staying at the Mark, so we have to go to the Top of the Mark," smiled Sebastian.

The elevator doors opened to an elegant restaurant and cocktail lounge with a stunning 360 view of the San Francisco Bay, the Bay Bridge, the neighboring highrises, and the brilliantly lit skyline of the city of Oakland. Blaine gasped in delight. "Seb, this is incredible!"

Sebastian practically beamed at him. They ordered dessert. Blaine heard the jazz band kick into "Orange Colored Sky." He grabbed Sebastian's hand. "I love this song! Oh man we have to dance to this!"

"I thought your feet were killing you!" laughed Sebastian.

_[youtubeDOTcom/watch?v=jZNwVpfomk8]_

_I was walking along, minding my business,  
When out of the orange colored sky,  
__Flash, bam, alacazam, Wonderful you came by.  
_

_I was humming a tune, drinking in sunshine,  
When out of that orange colored view  
Flash, bam, alacazam, I got a look at you._

_One look and I yelled timber_  
_Watch out for flying glass._  
_'Cause the ceiling fell in and the bottom fell out_  
_I went into a spin and I started to shout_  
_I've been hit_

Blaine spun out from Sebastian, then back into his arms.

_This is it, this is it, this is it, IT it._

_I was walking along minding my business_  
_When love came and hit me in the eye_

Blaine and Sebastian joined the band's callout

_Flash, bam, alacazam,  
Out of the orange colored sky _

_Well, one look and I yelled timber  
Watch out for flying glass.  
Cause the ceiling fell in and the bottom fell out  
I went into a spin and I started to shout  
I've been hit, _

Sebastian dipped a joyful Blaine.

_This is it, this is it, this is it, IT it._

_I was walking along minding my business_  
_When love came and hit me in the eye_

"This cannot be a more different nightclub than the one in the Castro," Blaine said laughing.

_Flash, bam, alacazam,  
Out of the orange colored, purple striped,  
Pretty green polka-dot sky  
Flash, bam, alacazam,  
And goodbye_

"We've had an amazing couple of days here," Blaine said breathlessly as they headed back to their white linen covered table to get off their feet.

Sebastian nodded in agreement, smiling at him.

"There it is again," Blaine said.

"What?"

"Your smile. Your real smile. I haven't seen a lot of it in the last week. Your signature smirk has been making more frequent appearances."

"Well, not much was really worthy of a smile until I got to see you twerking tonight," laughed Sebastian.

Blaine rolled his eyes. Then he spoke earnestly, "Well I'm glad to see your smile. I've missed it. And I'm glad you've had a good time on our visit here."

"I'll be sure to explore the city some more so that I can show you other sides of it if you decide to visit," Sebastian said casually, not meeting his eyes.

_(Author's note: for a peek Seb's casual facade, see the __archiveofourownDOTorg/works/1045220 or imgurDOTcom/yWMcttRDOTpng)_

"If?" Blaine reached across the table and coaxed Sebastian to look at him. "Huh, you really play it safe Smythe. Of course I'm going to come visit. It's not like I'm going to forget about you as soon as my feet hit the turf in Scotland."

Sebastian nodded, his face carefully neutral as he drank from his water glass.

"Whether you like it or not, I'm always going to be in your life, Sebastian Smythe. You're a part of me now. I mean what would have happened to me if you hadn't come along? I mean besides the obvious, that I might be married right now for all the wrong reasons." Blaine wished bringing up the subject didn't still turn his stomach so much, but he continued bravely anyway. "You weren't afraid to point out what both Kurt and I knew, but didn't want to admit – that it would have been a terrible idea."

Sebastian was looking out the window, down at the lights reflecting on the bay.

Blaine didn't want to subdue what had been an incredibly fun night. He tapped Sebastian's hand to get his attention and cocked his head to one side. "Plus, if I hadn't met you I wouldn't know thousands of trivial details behind the last 8 presidential elections."

Sebastian quirked an eyebrow. "Trivial? Respect the office, Anderson."

"If I hadn't met you I wouldn't know the exact dates the Ralph Lauren and Burberry fall, winter, spring AND summer collections come out every year," Blaine rolled his eyes.

"I told you, you have to be prepared if you're as tall as I am. Some of the Purple Label is produced in surprisingly limited quantities."

Blaine chuckled. "You're such a preppy!"

Sebastian taunted back, "Please…Pot! Kettle! Black!"

"If I hadn't met you I wouldn't have won a substantial amount of cash in the McKinley fantasy football pool."

Sebastian furrowed his brow. "Hey, I don't think you ever took me out to dinner for that."

Blaine asked himself, "What else? Oh, if I hadn't met you I wouldn't have this scar on my arm from our unfortunate fencing accident."

Sebastian protested, "I said I was sorry for that! How was I to know you'd have a wardrobe malfunction?"

Blaine smiled again. "If I hadn't met you, I wouldn't know about the amazing concoction that is the peanut butter and honey sandwich."

Sebastian grinned and licked his lips. "That sounds really good right now. I wonder if the kitchen here could make one for us…"

"And finally, Mr. Sebastian Smythe, if I had never met you I would have had a much tougher time getting through what turned out to be a pretty traumatic senior year." Blaine paused to search for the right words to explain. "You were always just…THERE. You listened…when I was stressed out about school, or my dad, or when Finn died, even about all the Kurt stuff. You listened even when I was stupid - especially when I was stupid. You didn't care if I screwed up and you made me laugh and you helped me forgive myself. I owe you a lot for that."

Sebastian looked up at him, smiling. "You don't owe me anything, B. But why didn't you write one of my letters of recommendation? I might have scored more scholarship money."

The waiter brought their bill. "Now…what would your life have been without me?" Blaine asked with his most engaging smile. "Would it have been such a Wonderful Life, George Sebastian Bailey?"

Sebastian tapped his lips and thought about it. "Hmmm…well I might have won a regionals trophy and even a nationals trophy if we hadn't competed against a team with Blaine Anderson on it."

Blaine laughed.

"And I wouldn't be ruined for all other men because of the perfection that is your ass."

Blaine blushed a deep red, protesting, "SSHHHH SEB!"

Sebastian scribbled their hotel room number on the bill. "Let's see, I wouldn't have wasted 3 hours of my life watching _Gone with the Wind_."

"You loved it, come on. Rhett Butler was hot enough to make it worth watching."

They got up and headed back to their room as Sebastian continued. "Hmm…if you hadn't come into my life, I wouldn't have had to carry Jesse St. James up a very steep flight of stairs after having to deck him for you."

Blaine covered his face with his hands and groaned.

Sebastian gestured for Blaine to get in the elevator first. "If I had never met you, I would have full-time use of my hoodies, since you always have at least 2 or 3 of them in your closet."

Blaine smiled, "They're comfier than mine!"

"That's because they are miles too big for you, so it must be like wearing a fleece blanket."

They stepped out of the elevator laughing.

"Oh, and if I had never met you I would never have met your ridiculous brother."

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

"Depends on the day, I guess."

Sebastian reached into his pocket for the hotel keycard. "Ok, here's a very important one. If I had never met Blaine Anderson, I wouldn't have turned over a new leaf." Sebastian's still had a half smile on his face, but there was serious look in his eye. "And I wouldn't be a better man."

"Aw, Seb…" Blaine squeezed his hand as they walked in the door.

Sebastian looked at Blaine's face as they reached the middle of the still partially lit room, still holding hands. Blaine was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Sebastian was pretty sure no one had ever looked at him like that before. He couldn't stop looking at him and Blaine wasn't looking away, either. Blaine's lips parted ever so slightly. It was mesmerizing. Sebastian had never in his life wanted to kiss someone so much.

But he knew better, even though his stomach did a little flip. He smiled too brightly, squeezed Blaine's hand and let go. After a quick moment of overwhelm, he headed to the dresser to pull out a t-shirt and his pajama bottoms. He took them into the bathroom and collecting himself while he changed, washed his face, and brushed his teeth. While Blaine was in the bathroom, Sebastian climbed into his very comfortable bed and tried very hard to not to think about kissing Blaine, and how if he started kissing Blaine, he knew would not be able to stop. Blaine came out of the bathroom, turned out the lights, and climbed into the other bed.

"Good night, B."

"Good night."

Sebastian was just drifting off when he felt the mattress sink under the weight of Blaine's body. He rolled over onto his back to face him and said sleepily, "What? You okay?"

Blaine looked at him with his puppy dog eyes. "No, I'm not okay. I'm already missing you – you're my best friend. I can't believe we have to say goodbye tomorrow."

Sebastian's heart softened as it always did when Blaine looked like that. He patted Blaine's arm. "It's going to be okay, Killer. Remember you said we're always going to be a part of each other's lives…"

"But not in the same way." Blaine pouted. He lay down on top of the covers next to Sebastian, looking up at the ceiling.

"But you're only going to be in Scotland for a year. Then it will be easier for us to catch flights to see each other, especially if you do end up at UCLA."

"A year is such a long time. And like you said, we probably won't be in the same city."

"Maybe we will be in the summers, we could get pathetic jobs in Ohio and I can throw you in the lake everyday again," Sebastian smiled weakly.

"Stop being so logical," Blaine pouted again. "Just hold me." He turned sideways to face Sebastian, wriggled into the nook between his arm and chest, flung his own arm and a leg over Sebastian's torso and hips, and wrapped Sebastian's other arm around him.

Sebastian tensed up as he felt the heat rise in his body.

"Sometimes, I just want you to listen," Blaine pouted some more. "Or just be quiet with me. Rub my back, please."

Sebastian's hand slowly moved to Blaine's upper back and patted it. This was not good.

Blaine let out a sigh of contentment.

"Oh no no no," Sebastian sat up.

Blaine looked hurt.

Sebastian's green eyes flashed. "I'm not going to be your rebound guy."

"You could never be my rebound guy, Seb." Blaine said, looking worried.

"Oh yes I would be, we keep this cuddling business up tonight and I'd be the first guy you kissed or fucked after your broken engagement and by definition that would make me the rebound guy. And it never ends well for that guy," Sebastian argued, arms crossed. "I know you," he said pointing a finger, "For you kissing and fucking means complicated feelings and shit and then you might not want to even be friends and…"

"Oh, Seb." Blaine interrupted softly, reaching out to touch his arm. "Don't…"

"Blaine!" Sebastian pulled away and spoke with frustration. "Just stop." He ran a hand through his hair. "You're making this…I just…" For once in his life, Sebastian was at a loss for words. He looked more frustrated than Blaine had ever seen him before. If Blaine didn't know better, he'd say Sebastian almost looked…panicked.

Almost. Because Sebastian Smythe did not panic.

Blaine's instincts kicked in for Sebastian's sake. He backpedaled. "Seb, I was just going to say 'don't freak out, I'll leave you alone.' I'm sorry. I was just feeling…emotional."

Sebastian looked apologetic now, but still frustrated. He said slowly but still with some heat, "I'm sorry. I know you like cuddling…I just don't want to put us in a position that might make tomorrow…"

Blaine interrupted him, patting the pillow. "It's okay, really. Lie down, relax. I'll go back to my bed so I don't grope you," he joked, now anxiously trying to lighten the mood.

Sebastian looked down and said quietly, "I'm sorry I yelled."

"It's okay, just go to sleep," Blaine said gently. "We're both tired."

Sebastian looked at him wearily. "Yeah, we're both tired. Good night, B." He lay down on his side, holding a pillow with his back turned to Blaine.

Blaine got into his own bed and hugged a pillow as well, looking at Sebastian's form in the dark. Blaine's pillow was a bit damp in few minutes.

They both lay in their respective beds, eyes open, for a long time, until they fell asleep.

* * *

Sebastian heard the hotel room door open, then a scurrying across the room. His eyes felt glued shut. "I'm awake B, it's okay, you don't have to tiptoe around."

Blaine sounded surprised. "Oh! I'm sorry, I was trying not to wake you." Sebastian heard him open a drawer quickly and rummage for clothes.

"It's okay, I was already kind of waking up. I just can't get my eyes open."

"Go back to sleep, go back to sleep," Blaine urged. "I just…went to exercise and am going to take a shower, but I'll be quick." Blaine shut the bathroom door quickly.

Sebastian started rubbing his eyes, hearing the water turn on. He was exhausted – yesterday had been…a lot. They probably didn't go to bed until almost 3. He looked at his phone and saw it was 10:30. He knew Nick was going to kill them for getting such a late start.

So he got out of bed as quickly as he could in his current exhausted state. He started packing.

A few minutes later, Blaine emerged from the bathroom. Sebastian didn't look up, as he was trying to get his suitcase closed. .

Blaine came over and pulled on his arm. "Are you doing okay? I want to apologize for I freaking you out last night. I'm really sorry, I just…"

Sebastian cut in to reassure him. "I'm fine, B. It's okay, I get it, you were feeling emotional." He took Blaine by the hand and walked them over to the bench at the foot of his bed. "I'm sorry if I …overreacted. I just…" He groped for words.

"It's ok, you were fine." Blaine said gently, taking his other hand. "But can I ask you something?"

Sebastian nodded.

"What do you think about staying an extra day in the city today? I was just thinking this morning that we are having such a good time that I don't want to go quite yet. I mean we never made it over to Marin County to go biking, and I saw that Third Eye Blind is playing tonight at the Fillmore!" Blaine paused for breath. "I ran into Nick and Sam downstairs, and they are game if you are, since it would only mean cutting into my time with Cooper. But for you it means moving into your dorm a day later, so we would totally understand if you wanted to just keep the original plan."

Sebastian was a little overwhelmed with the barrage of detail before he'd had his coffee, but he could never refuse Blaine when he looked like that - like a little kid wanting to open more of his Christmas presents on Christmas Eve. "No, no I don't mind," he said, "As long as we get me some coffee very soon."

"Oh that's so great!" Blaine hugged him. "Ok, I'm going to tell the guys and then I'll check with the concierge to see which part of Marin we should go to and find out where to rent bikes. And I checked with the hotel and they said there's vacancy and we wouldn't even have to change rooms! You take a shower and put on some sweats or something to bike in." Blaine moved toward the door, then turned around with more instructions. "And pack your backpack, something to read maybe, and sunblock, maybe a hat. The forecast says it's going to be another gorgeous sunny Califorina day, and Marin is supposed to be even warmer than the city! And I'll bring up a coffee, is that little bottle of Courvoisier empty yet? Because I could run down to that market nearby and see if my fake ID could get us more."

Sebastian was always amused when Blaine got into his Energizer bunny mode. "Don't get yourself arrested for my coffee, B – just go do your stuff." He waved him off and went to go shower.

* * *

Their visit to Marin was even more successful than the day prior. They didn't talk much because they were each on rented bicycles, a 40 mile roundtrip ride to Marin and back. None of them were avid bicyclists, but it didn't matter because the ride was mostly flat, over the Golden Gate Bridge and along the bike path along the bay into the nearby bedroom community of Tiburon just across the bay in Marin County. There were spectacular views of the city across the bay and the multi-million dollar homes of Marin.

As they headed out, Blaine played the perfect song through his Iphone earbuds for the ride:

_ youtubeDOTcom/watch?v=dQUvezM3D3E_

_Can't you hear that rooster crowing ?_

_Rabbit running down across the road_

_Underneath the bridge where the water flows through _

_So happy just to see you smile _

_Underneath the sky of blue_

_On this new morning, new morning_

_On this new morning with you.  
_

_Can't you hear that motor turning_

_Automobile coming into style_

_Coming down the road for a country mile or two ?_

_So happy just to see you smile _

_Underneath the sky of blue_

_On this new morning, new morning _

_On this new morning with you._

_The night passed away so quickly _

_It always does when you're with me._

_Can't you feel that sun a-shining ? _

_Ground hog running by the country stream_

_This must be the day when all of my dreams come true_

_So happy just to be alive _

_Underneath the sky of blue_

_On this new morning, new morning _

_On this new morning with you._

_So happy just to be alive _

_Underneath the sky of blue_

_On this new morning, new morning_

_On this new morning with you_

_New morning ..._

They stopped for a break in downtown Tiburon. They were all blissed out from the blood pumping through their veins from the ride and the beautiful views, fresh air and sunshine. There was simply no room in their spirits for Blaine to be melancholy or Sebastian to be cross.

"I seriously want to live here," Blaine declared, watching other tourists and townspeople walk by from an outdoor café after lunch.

"I thought you wanted to live in San Francisco," Sam said, confused.

"I do...but after awhile I'll have kids so I'll want to move to a smaller tow n." Blaine watched a little girl with dark wavy hair play with her dad by the fountain several paces over .

"I hope you'll be a huge actor or composer by then," Sebastian said, "The homes around here look like they average $5 million apiece."

"Either that, or you can just marry rich," Nick said with a grin. Sebastian glared at him.

Blaine was looking at his watch. "Hey, let's head back, you guys."

"Already? What's your hurry?" Sebastian said closing his eyes and leaning his head back. "The sun and the breeze feels so good and I don't have to be moving my legs when I'm right here."

Blaine poked him in the ribs, earning him a swipe upside the head. "I want to get back to this boutique I saw yesterday to get something for Tina. It's been bugging me that I didn't buy it and they close at 5PM."

"Really?" Sam was sunning himself as well, "Can't you just get her something from the hotel gift shop or something?"

"No. Come on, you guys!" Blaine was insistent.

Sebastian found an old favorite on his Ipod for his ride back to the city:

playDOTspotifyDOTcom/album/2yPVB4tLlnfBl8SgcX8qDv

_Remember when the days were long_

_And rolled beneath a deep blue sky_

_Didn't have a care in the world_

_With mommy and daddy standin' by_

_But "happily ever after" fails_

_And we've been poisoned by these fairy tales_

_The lawyers dwell on small details_

_Since daddy had to fly  
_

_But I know a place where we can go_

_That's still untouched by men_

_We'll sit and watch the clouds roll by_

_And the tall grass wave in the wind_

_You can lay your head back on the ground_

_And let your hair fall all around me_

_Offer up your best defense_

_But this is the end_

_This is the end of the innocence_

_..._

_Who knows how long this will last_

_Now we've come so far, so fast_

_But, somewhere back there in the dust_

_That same small town in each of us_

_I need to remember this_

_So baby give me just one kiss_

_And let me take a long last look_

_Before we say goodbye_

_Just lay your head back on the ground_

_And let your hair fall all around me_

_Offer up your best defense_

_But this is the end_

_This is the end of the innocence_

In less than a mile, Sebastian could start to feel the ache come back. Tomorrow they really would be leaving.

* * *

At the hotel Blaine showered first. He came out dressed in the navy blazer, gray slacks and a hipster tie. "Are those your Dalton slacks?" Sebastian asked, laughing.

Blaine ignored him, being in a hurry to leave. "I'm gonna borrow your car – I'll meet you guys at the restaurant – I made reservations for 4 at Atelier Crenn for 5:30. They have valet parking so you don't have to worry about that, though I still think you should get used to taking the bus." Blaine chided him even as he tried not to stare at Sebastian taking his shirt off on his way to the steamy bathroom.

"Okay, mom." Sebastian replied. "Do you really think you're going to take that long shopping? Buy something for my mom then, will you?"

"I'll try!" Blaine shouted, door closing behind him.

* * *

Sebastian's phone buzzed with a text as he took the ticket from the valet at the restaurant.

_BLAINE: I'm going to have to miss dinner - go ahead and eat there anyway without me, I'll grab something fast to eat when I get there. Sorry! Enjoy it and don't be too pretentious with your French with the waiters, it will annoy Sam. You two shouldn't squabble on your last night together. _

_SEBASTIAN: What the hell are you getting Tina that could take 2 and half hours?_

_BLAINE: I'll explain when I see you. It's all good! I should be there in time for dessert._

* * *

After the sumptuous dinner and exquisite wine that Sebastian knew Sam didn't fully appreciate, Blaine still wasn't there. Nick thought they should skip dessert anyway, to allow for any crosstown traffic on the way to the Fillmore. "It would be great to get there early to check out the building – it's such an epic venue – The Grateful Dead, James Brown, Hendrix, Tina Turner have all played there."

_SEBASTIAN: Hey Alice, you still down the rabbit hole? We're skipping dessert and headed to the Fillmore – you're going to miss the opening act if you don't get a move on. Where are you?_

_BLAINE: That's perfect, I can be at the Fillmore in 15. I'll just leave your car here and grab a cab. _

_SEBASTIAN: Leave my car where? _

_SEBASTIAN: Don't leave my car parked on the street._

_SEBASTIAN: Or in a sketchy garage_

_SEBASTIAN: Make sure you give them the valet key so they can't open the trunk_

_SEBASTIAN: Blaine?_

* * *

Blaine was at the Fillmore by the time they arrived. Before Sebastian could say a word, Blaine swept them into the building through a very noisy crowd, where they staked out a spot to stand near the stage.

Nick and Sam went to the bar upstairs for dessert and to explore the building, which meant Sebastian could finally get an explanation.

"Where were you?" Sebastian demanded.

Blaine's eyes were shining. "Seb, I have the best news!"

**Author's Note: I know, evil cliffhanger. Well I hope you enjoyed our boys almost-kiss (ok, some of you probably hate me for not letting them kiss) and their almost-night in bed together (ok, probably ALL of you hate me for that). Hopefully at least the dancing and romancing at the Top of the Mark were satisfying! And I hope you liked the bike ride to the town where I live, Tiburon (hence my username). Oh, and now you know where we got the fic title. **

**Please review and let me know what you like and don't like (but be kind about the way you tell me, please - I'm a sensitive soul.) It is helpful to see if I can do more of what you like and less of what you don't like... Thanks for reading!**


	3. Cold Feet, First Blush, Lost Seb

Nick and Sam were getting sodas at the bar. "Sebastian was kind of quiet at dinner, huh?" Sam said.

"Yeah. I think he's really bummed about saying goodbye to Blaine," Nick said. "And then Blaine disappears on us. What do you think he was doing? It couldn't have just been shopping. Unless Tina's tastes are really that specific?"

"I dunno, not that I know of." Sam said, turning around and leaning against the bar. "I kinda wish Tina was here though, she'd know what to do with this whole Sebastian thing."

"What would you want her to do?" Nick asked. "I thought they were kind of cute yesterday and today, holding hands and stuff."

"Yeah, but Blaine's not really the most…stable right now, and you know Sebastian can be kind of…"

"A jerk?" Nick laughed. "Yeah, I know. But Sam…" He stopped to gather his thoughts. "Sebastian actually does really care about Blaine. He's not going to break his heart, if that's what you're worried about." He paused again, thinking back. "He's been falling for Blaine since junior year. He got caught in the Blaine Anderson spell the first time he met him…but it's taken Mr. Cool awhile to show it even a little. And he's not like that about anyone else. You should have seen him when he thought Kurt and Blaine were going to get married. I thought he was going to blow a gasket, and then, like cry or something."

"Cry, really?"

"Well ok, he wouldn't cry…but something. He was more…emotional than I've ever seen him."

Sam was thoughtful. "Well let's say you're right…but even if he doesn't break his heart, I just hope Blaine doesn't spend the year in Scotland being all sappy about him."

Nick agreed. "That's true. He should go shake off all the Kurt stuff and breathe a little. But I bet you Seb would say the same thing. So the ball's in your court, bro – you have take him out and make sure he has some fun so he doesn't stay home waiting for a Skype call."

Sam downed his coke. "I hope I'm up to the job."

"You'll be fine. Being in a different country will help. But more importantly, get him drunk." Nick grinned. "You have no idea how many Warblers Drunk!Blaine flirted with during his Dalton days. "

"Ooh, that's true. Drunk!Blaine made out with Rachel all night at her party. Or was it Brittany or Quinn? I know he kissed Rachel during spin the bottle but after that I was trapped under Santana all night so I couldn't see that well."

Nick patted him on the back. "Then it sounds like you know just what to do. Now let's get downstairs before we miss the whole opening act."

* * *

"Where's my car?!" Sebastian hollered over the guitar riffs of the opening act.

Blaine yelled back. "It's in a very safe spot, don't worry! Totally secure!"

"Where?! Where were you?!" Sebastian shouted.

"I'll get to that! It'll make sense once I tell you my news! It's too loud here!"

"What?! It's what?!"

"IT'S TOO LOUD! Once the guys get back we can go upstairs and I'll tell you everything!"

Sebastian was about to just abandon their spot on the floor when Nick and Sam came weaving through the crowd. They left their bewildered friends immediately and Blaine pulled Sebastian upstairs to the bar where Nick and Sam had been, called the "Poster Room." It was decorated with hundreds of colorful concert posters of famous acts that had played at the Fillmore.

They sat down at a small pub table.

"Out with it." Sebastian commanded.

Blaine leaned forward onto the table, vibrating with excitement. "I'm going to spend this year here, in San Francisco!"

"What? What are you talking about?" Sebastian was thunderstruck.

Blaine beamed. "Well you know how much I've been falling in love with this city…and yesterday when we were in the theatre district I saw this cute little theatre that looked interesting. So early this morning I got online and read about it. It's new, but the artistic director has Broadway credits and they sound like they have a wonderful vision for the theatre. They are producing off-Broadway shows and original works and get this, starting this fall, they are offering their first 1 year theatre program targeting high school and college aged students!"

Sebastian was trying to formulate a response, so he kept quiet and leaned back in his chair.

Blaine barreled on. "And the program starts NEXT week! I mean how perfect is this? It's like it's a sign, Seb. So this morning I went to drop by their office to find out more…"

"You mean when you told me you went out to exercise?" Sebastian interrupted, arching an eyebrow and smirking.

Blaine looked abashed. "Well I didn't want to tell you anything until after I learned more about it."

"I've been a bad influence on you, Anderson . Sebastian laughed, but then furrowed his brow again. "Ok, go on."

Blaine radiated happiness. "So I met with the executive director, Brooke, and she was WONDERFUL. She went through their ideas for the course curriculum and talked to me more about the artistic director and the faculty they are bringing in, and I told her about my background and NYADA and that I had personal reasons for not being able to be in New York anymore. She seems SO nice, Seb, I felt so at home with her right away. And get this, she lives in TIBURON! So then she texted the artistic director on the spot to see if he had time to interview me in the afternoon, which is why I had to head back to the city from Tiburon so early."

"Which is when you lied to me again," Sebastian smirked, crossing his arms and shaking his head.

"Yeah," Blaine blushed. "So anyway, I met him and he was super impressive, like Carmen Tibideau, but nicer! And so I did an audition on the spot and they said yes on the spot! And then I filled out a bunch of paperwork. And THEN - get this - I mentioned that I would probably need to work part-time if I wanted to be able to live in the city, and they said they had a friend who runs the City Parks and Rec program, and that if I wanted to they could walk me over to talk to them about a job, because they thought they might need instructors for their kids musical theater programs! So I walked with them for a while and got to know Ryan (that's the artistic director) even better and then I met with their friend Zach at the Parks and Rec and I loved him and he pretty much hired me on the spot, too!"

Blaine finally stopped for breath, his eyes like stars. "Isn't all of this amazing?"

Sebastian just studied him for a moment – he looked so incredibly happy. Sebastian hated that he was going to dismantle that. He also remembered Cooper saying Blaine was stubborn and that getting right into arguing with him was not always a good idea. He uncrossed his arms and leaned onto the table.

"Seb, why are you looking at me like I'm crazy?"

"I don't think you're crazy. It's just…" He wanted to choose his words carefully. "Isn't this kind of sudden? And please tell me you didn't give them any deposit money."

"No, not yet. Seb, I know it's sudden, but everything is so perfect about it! They seem so great, and I will get to live in San Francisco, and you and I will be able to hang out on weekends at least. And I can go see Cooper and Nick pretty often!"

Sebastian waved a hand to get a word in edge-wise. "Blaine, slow down. I just want you to slow down and think about this. Can I just play devil's advocate for a minute?"

"Okay…" Blaine looked wary.

"Do you really think it's a good idea to be part of a program that's in its first year? The first couple of years is when any new program gets its kinks out. And what kind Broadway credits does this Ryan guy have?"

"He was in Wicked AND Book of Mormon." Blaine said immediately.

"What roles? And does he have artistic director experience? Because performance experience does not always mean you can direct a college level program. And what percentage of students are even college students? Will it just be you and a bunch of high school glee clubbers?"

"Sebastian, why are you being so critical? Can't you just be happy for me?"

"I will be very happy for you if this is the right decision, B. Really, I'll get completely behind you. But what about Scotland? That's a nationally renowned program, it just has rolling admissions, which was lucky for us. It's at the very top of the second tier - you and Tina and I researched it exhaustively, remember? And it's just a 1 year program so you can go to a top tier school next year to finish out your training. And it's just a 1 hour flight to London."

"LA's only an hour flight away from here."

"Blaine, you know LA is all about TV and movies."

"Well then why do you think UCLA is such a good idea?"

"Because it's a top tier educational experience. You should be near a city producing top-tier shows, or in a top-tier program, or both. Not neither."

Blaine crossed his arms. "Sebastian this year isn't just about my education and career. I know you're Mr. Ambitious and you'll probably have a job at Apple or something in no time, but what's wrong with taking a year to just find myself a little?"

Sebastian was gentle. "There's nothing wrong with that. But you can do that and be in a solid program at the same time – they are not mutually exclusive experiences. In fact a good program will_ help_ you find yourself. And let me tell you that there is nothing more broadening than living abroad. You think I'm bad now? I was such a provincial little shit when I went to Paris. It opened me up quite a bit, gave me perspective…"

"I'm not you, Sebastian." Blaine pouted. "I think I can grow plenty in San Francisco."

Sebastian felt like he'd hit the stubborn wall Cooper was referring to. He took a beat and stared at a Jimi Hendrix poster as he thought about what to say next.

When he turned back, Blaine was looking down. Sebastian nudged his chin up. "I know you, Blaine – you would take that job babysitting those theatre kids and get wrapped up in 'doing the right thing' and end up an assistant director of some arts education program and talk yourself into doing that work and miss your peak window of opportunity to be a performer on stage." He teased, "Those bashful schoolboy looks are only going to last for so many years, you know." He didn't get a smile in return. "In Europe you'll only be able to get a limited work visa, which means you'll only take a job if it's a great opportunity."

"Seb, it would only be a year."

"But it would be a year that would point you in a certain direction at the end of it, and it would be a year you'd need to talk about in an NYU or UCLA admissions interview."

Blaine was quiet for a few moments.

"Seb, are you worried that I'll cramp your style here? Because we don't have to see each other that often if I lived here. I don't want to stay here just for you, I promise." Blaine swallowed. "And about last night, you have to believe me when I say…"

Sebastian interrupted, shaking his head. "There is no way you could ever cramp my style." He took hold of Blaine's hands. "B, you know I'm a selfish bastard. If I got what I wanted, you'd stay here and live under my dorm bed. But you belong in Scotland this year with Sam. I think you just have cold feet and you think you're going to miss me much more than you really will."

"Well I _am_ going to miss you," Blaine said quietly.

"Ok you've said that so much that now I think you're just trying to butter me up," said Sebastian, trying to lighten the mood. "What do you want from me? Cash for your backpacking trip? Access to my mom's house in Paris for your weekend getaways with Sexy Lips Evans?"

"You're ludicrous," Blaine said, breaking into a small smile and punching him in the arm. He leaned on the table and held his head in his hands. "So you really think it's such a bad idea to stay here? I mean these people were so great…"

"I'm sure there will be really great people in Scotland," Sebastian said firmly. "Including Sam, who I think would be really disappointed and thrown if you change your plans."

"I don't know…" Blaine put his elbows on the table and leaned his head into his hands.

After a minute or two, Sebastian said, "Hey Killer, let's do this. You think about it during the concert, let it stew in your head a bit. And then if you want we'll talk more later. 'Cause I know you were really excited about this concert before…and we did drop a couple hundred bucks on these last minute tickets."

Blaine allowed himself to be led downstairs, but his head was in a fog. Nick and Sam greeted them heartily, but they noticed even in the dark of the concert that Blaine was distracted and clinging to Sebastian again. They also saw that though the whole time Sebastian had his arms wrapped around Blaine from behind, he looked like a stiff, hurt child.

The last song made Sebastian look even more wounded and Blaine even more wistful:

_[youtubeDOTcom/watch?v=puKWMnfO1RU]_

_The suckers lose themselves  
In the games they learn to play  
Children love to sing but  
Then their voices slowly fade away  
People always take a step away  
From what is true  
That's why I like you around  
I want you  
Oh you do you do...  
You make me want you  
An open invitation to the dance  
Happenstance set the vibe that we are in  
No apology because my urge is genuine  
And the mystery of your rhythm is so feminine  
Here I am and I want to take a hit  
Of your scent cause it bit so deep into my soul  
I want you  
Yeah, you do you do...  
You make me want you  
_

When the encore ended and the house lights went up, Sebastian loosened his hold and Blaine turned around and looked up at him with his big, beautiful eyes. In that moment Sebastian actually prayed that Blaine would stay in San Francisco.

"I hate it when you're right," Blaine said with a wan smile and shiny eyes.

Sebastian looked at him and tried to smile, too. "Me too."

They filed out of the building and took a cab back to Sebastian's car and went back to the hotel. Nick and Sam talked enthusiastically about the concert. Sebastian and Blaine tried to respond, but didn't say much. Blaine described the reasons for his disappearance that day with far less enthusiasm than earlier, then calmly explained that he had decided not to pursue it. Sam looked at him keenly, but chose not say anything.

It was midnight by the time they were back at the hotel and they were all subdued and exhausted by then. Sebastian started packing while Blaine was brushing his teeth in the bathroom. Neither had said anything since they left Nick and Sam by the elevators. When Sebastian came out of the bathroom after brushing his own teeth, Blaine was curled up on his side on his bed. Sebastian studied him, looking small and beautiful in the big bed, wrapped in the white duvet.

Wordlessly, Sebastian climbed in and curled up behind him, wrapped an arm around him and held him tight. They lay there in silence with their eyes open, for a long time, until they fell asleep .

* * *

The next morning Blaine rolled over and found a note:

_B – _

_ I'm headed to Stanford early. I know Duvall is getting antsy, so I thought I'd save you guys some time. And remember I don't do weepy goodbyes. _

_ Here's a little something to keep you warm if you ever get cold feet again. Just take it easy on the gel when you wear it. _

_S _

_P.S. I'm gonna miss you too._

The note was tucked into Sebastian's Dalton Lacrosse hoodie.

The drive to Los Angeles was less lively; the absence of the least talkative and most grouchy member of the roadtrip left a surprising void in the group dynamic. Nick was also a little quieter as his thoughts began to focus on his new life in college just ahead.

Blaine looked calm as he stared out the window at the huge California farms flying past, but Sam knew there was more. He had seen Blaine like this before – his eyes and his body language spoke volumes – this was Blaine being brave in the face of sorrow.

Sam sat in the back seat and sketched his face, making notes for a macaroni portrait.

Blaine was wondering if Sebastian thought he was too emotionally needy. It wasn't until after their noon stop for lunch that he finally broke down to text him, while Nick and Sam were blasting Iron Maiden over the stereo and singing along in the front seat.

_BLAINE: Hi. Thanks for the hoodie, what a sweet surprise. _

_SEBASTIAN: Hi. You're welcome. _

Blaine wondered if they would survive a whole year of awkward electronic communication. They used to have fun text and email conversations all the time in Ohio…what happened?

_SEBASTIAN: Hope you didn't mind too much that we didn't get a proper goodbye._

_BLAINE: It's okay, I can see why you might've thought I'd get all emotional on you if didn't steal away in the night._

_SEBASTIAN: Like Nightbird, the nocturnal avenger?_

Blaine inwardly blessed his altar ego for providing comic relief.

_BLAINE: Right :D How is it going so far? I'd call you, but Nick and Sam are rocking out to 80's metal right now._

_SEBASTIAN: Tell those two morons that I could not be more happy that I am no longer trapped in a car with either of them. _

_BLAINE: They said they miss you too :D_

_SEBASTIAN: Idiots. _

_SEBASTIAN: Things are fine so far. Dorm room is a decent size, found a coffee cart that will do in a pinch, the roommate seems okay - band geek from southern California. His mother sent homemade cookies with him, so I figure it can't hurt to stay on his good side._

_BLAINE: I'm sure he will love you, you can be very charming when you want to be. Especially when fresh baked cookies are involved. I am only just now stopping to contemplate what it is really going to be like to have Sam for a roommate. You'll have to give me your roommate survival tips. I only boarded at Dalton for a year, remember? Wes was like the perfect roommate. Somehow think Wes and Sam have different living habits._

_SEBASTIAN: Yeah, that is a bleached tighty-whitie vs. ripped boxers distinction right there._

_BLAINE: Okay I just almost snorted coffee out of my nose. The visual! God I miss you already._

Sebastian felt a twist in his stomach.

_SEBASTIAN: Sorry, I gotta run – there's some kind of lunch thing for my dorm so I guess I should go show them I can play well with others…so I don't become known as "that Unabomber kid from Ohio_."

_BLAINE: Ok, bye!_

_SEBASTIAN: Bye, I'll call you or text you later – after lunch or at the latest, tonight. _

Sebastian pocketed his phone, hoping that saying goodbye to Blaine wasn't going to suck so much every single fucking time.

Blaine had thought all morning that he would feel better once he got to talk to Sebastian. Yet when turned off his phone, he felt deflated, but didn't know exactly why.

* * *

"Coop!"

"Squirt!"

"Don't call me that," Blaine rolled his eyes and hugged his brother very tightly. It had only been 5 weeks since the weekend of the almost-wedding, but his big brother's goofy smile and suffocating hugs were still incredibly comforting after everything that had transpired.

"Hey Sam, Nick!" Cooper said over Blaine's shoulder.

After they said their farewells to Nick, Cooper ushered Sam and Blaine into his modest house. "Sorry I couldn't pick you up, but the Mini-Cooper doesn't fit much luggage. And I know little brother doesn't pack too light."

"Hey, I wasn't so bad…you should see how much Kurt packs!" Even as he said the name, Blaine felt a pang in his heart.

Cooper looked over Blaine's head and raised his eyebrows at Sam at the mention of Kurt. Sam shrugged.

"WHOA!" Sam said, looking around the entryway, which was decorated with posters from every James Bond movie ever produced.

Blaine sighed, "That's right, I never told you about Cooper's house."

Cooper said grandly, "Yes, I wanted to be constantly immersed in inspiration, so each room of my house is an homage to a different genre or film that grounds and uplifts my spirit and soul."

Sam was still busy staring with his mouth hanging open at a life-sized poster of Halle Berry in the orange bikini. "Yeah, soul."

"Come in, come in!" Cooper guided them into his Disney kitchen . He got them drinks and they pulled out barstools around the kitchen island.

"So, I was bummed you guys didn't come down as planned, but I get it. San Francisco is pretty awesome, and you've visited me before."

Blaine was standing again, stretching out his stiff back and arms from the long day of driving and moving boxes for Nick.

"Yeah, it was pretty great," Sam said, "We went to Alcatraz, we went to The Cartoon Art Museum and a science museum…"

"Really? You did that touristy stuff with Sebastian?" Cooper shook his head in disbelief. "I would think he would hate that kind of thing."

"Oh, he was a pretty good sport," Blaine said, remembering the week with a smile.

"Yeah, it took awhile, but he came around." Sam nodded.

"He came around from what?" Cooper asked.

"Oh, the long road trip was not really his thing," Blaine said vaguely. He wandered the kitchen, picking up Disney paraphernalia. "So he was a little grumpy while we were driving to San Francisco."

Sam gave Blaine a look. "A LITTLE grumpy?"

Cooper rubbed his hands together in delight like a cartoon villain. "Okay, what happened? I can tell something happened. Dish! Blainey, what was going on with Sebastian? I promise I won't judge!"

Blaine shook his head at his brother. "Coop, don't even bother trying to promise that. Of course you're going to judge!"

"Ok, I probably will. But I'll try to give you my opinions nicely, how about that? Now, tell me what's going on Sebby."

"He'd kill you if he heard you call him that," Blaine said.

"Don't try to change the subject...I _know_ there's something more to this story," Cooper said. "You know I'm a little psychic," he added to Sam in an aside.

"He's not psychic. At all." Blaine said to Sam, rolling his eyes.

Cooper didn't miss a beat. "You might as well stop beating around the bush because you know I'll get it out of you eventually."

Blaine sighed. "Fine. Sebastian was having trouble saying goodbye to me."

"Awwww…"

"Do you want me to finish?"

Cooper crinkled his nose at him and nodded, abashed.

Blaine rolled his eyes. "It's just, he and I were spending a lot of time together after Kurt and I cancelled the wedding - he was being really supportive. So we got a lot closer over the last month or so than we have ever been."

Cooper raised his eyebrows "So when you say, 'got a lot closer…' do you mean, like naked closer?"

"No! Let me finish!" Blaine blushed.

"Sorry, I'll withhold commentary."

"As if you have ever been able to do that," Blaine groused. "Anyway, he was kind of being a jackass on the drive to San Francisco, and Nick figured out that it was because he was sad about saying goodbye to me and he was pushing me away because he thought somehow that might help make saying goodbye easier."

"Awwwwww…"

Blaine ignored him. "So by the time we got to SF, I called him on it, and then I think Nick talked to him more about it…"

"I always liked that Nick."

"…so he was being nicer by the time we started sightseeing."

"And?"

"And, that's it. You wanted to know how he came around to doing touristy stuff with us and why he was being so grumpy."

"Ok…" Cooper raised his eyebrows and gestured meaningfully…"But give me more."

"More what?"

Sam tapped Cooper on the shoulder and pointed at the refrigerator with questioning eyes.

"Help yourself, kiddo." Cooper waved at the pantry as well, then turned back to Blaine. "What happened once you got to San Francisco? He was sad about goodbye…so how did the goodbyes actually go? Did you break his heart?"

"No!" Blaine said, annoyed.

"Well, what exactly happened, then?"

"They held hands," Sam offered. "And Blaine laid his head on Sebastian's chest when we stood in line for stuff."

"Ah…" Cooper said, smiling.

"It was not a big deal, he's just been a good friend…" Blaine floundered and blushed.

"Oh please…there it is, your Crush Blush."

Sam closed the refrigerator door with his foot and dumped a bottle of beer, an apple, and a roast chicken on the table. "His what?"

"His Crush Blush. Whenever he'd get bent out of shape about some guy he was crushing on, Blainey gets that exact blush. Starts mid-neck, stops just below the cheekbones." It's like he's too embarrassed to blush more! It's fascinating !"

Sam chortled.

"Coop!"

Cooper grinned. "So tell me, did you really stay an extra day in San Francisco because you wanted to see more of San Francisco, or because you wanted to see more of that hot Warbler?"

"Both," Sam answered, swigging from his beer.

"Sam!" Blaine cried.

"Well you did, dude. You said you wanted to figure out if there was a way for you to stay in San Francisco this year; and you wanted all of us to spend more time together in Marin and go to the concert."

"Yes, I wanted ALL of us to spend more time together, not just Sebastian."

"But 'all of us' INCLUDED Sebastian!" Coop pointed out (literally pointed out), in triumph.

"Right," said Sam, taking a big bite of his apple. "Come on man, it was obvious during the concert that there is something going on with you guys. And about that - I wanted to ask you but I didn't get to on the drive with Nick there - did you guys have sex last night?"

"Wha-ha?!" Cooper jumped off his stool.

"NO!" Blaine shouted. "Good god, you guys…I can't believe that you would…"

Sam said matter-of-factly, "What? You shared a fancy hotel room for five nights! Last night was the last night. You were all mushy at the concert. Recipe for sex." He gnawed on his chicken leg.

Cooper was practically panting as he dug a 101 Dalmatians plate out of the cupboard for Sam's chicken leg.

Sam addressed Cooper. "We stayed at the Intercontinental, man – it was awesome. Sebastian paid for everything."

Blaine was quick to add, "Only because he insisted we stay there – I told him I would only pay for Holiday Inns on the trip."

"You stayed at the Mark? Wow, impressive." Cooper was thoughtful.

"COOP!"

Coop shook himself. "Sorry, let's get back on track. So nothing happened? Not even a little, you know…wet cuddling?"

"Ewww!" Blaine hit his brother in the shoulder.

"Ugh," Sam said, putting his beer bottle down with a grimace.

"Sorry! I don't know what you kids are calling it these days!"

"God Coop, Kurt and I cancelled our wedding like, 6 weeks ago!"

Cooper rolled his eyes. "Blaine, it's okay to have carnal urges, you know."

"Coop! I can't believe…" Blaine was blushing furiously again.

Coop put his arm around Sam's shoulder and pointed at Blaine. " You see how the blush goes all the way to his forehead this time? That's the Too-Much blush. Too much sex talk makes him blush that way ."

Sam laughed and said, "Coop is right on this one, Blaine. It's okay to have a little fun to help you move on from Kurt."

At the mention of Kurt, Blaine got quiet.

Cooper said, "Aw Blainey, don't be sad. I'll leave you alone. And I_ am_ sorry."

Blaine huffed, "Thank you."

"Yes, I _am_ sorry that you and Seb didn't get down and dirty. He's a hot guy!"

"Coop! Again, it's only been a few weeks, I can't even _think_…"

Sam took another bite of his chicken. "Blaine, I gotta stop you there. Nick and I saw you lusting after Sebastian when he got out of the pool when we got to Salt Lake City. And at Golden Gate Park when he took his shirt off and lay down next to you. I thought you were going to get drool on his shoulder."

Coop threw his head back and laughed heartily, "He got you, little brother! Stone cold evidence! Busted! Snagged!"

Blaine blushed crimson.

Cooper hooted, "All the way to the roots of his hair! I don't think I've ever seen his blush go that far! It's the Got Caught Lusting Blush!"

Blaine bolted for the door. "I'm going to bed!"

Cooper chased after him, redirecting him into the Indiana Jones themed living room. "Ok, ok, we'll stop talking about Sebastian. You came to visit, have a good time. So I got the Karaoke all set up!"

Sam was at their heels, pumping his fist. "Yes! Anderbros!"

Cooper cranked up the karaoke CD and shoved a microphone in Blaine's hands. He started Duran Duran choreography Blaine clearly remembered but was reluctant to join:

[from youtubeDOTcom/watch?v=bHtUw9lJipc]

_[Cooper and Sam]  
Da nah nah nah  
__Da nah nah nah  
__Da nah nah nah_

_[Cooper]_

_You've gone too far this time  
_

_[Cooper and Sam]  
But I'm dancing on the valentine__  
_

_[Cooper]_

_I tell you somebody's fooling around__  
_

_[Cooper and Sam, goading Blaine to sing the next line]  
With my chances on the dangerline__  
__  
[Blaine, finally cracking a smile]  
I'll cross that bridge when I find it__  
_

_[Blaine started his part of the choreography, with Cooper and Sam backing]  
__Another day to make my stand_

_[Blaine]  
High time is no time for deciding_

[Cooper and Sam on backing vocals on intro]  
_If I should find a helping hand_

_[Blaine with Cooper and Sam on backing vocals]_  
_So why don't you use it?  
__Try not to bruise it  
__Buy time don't lose it_

_[Cooper with Blaine and Sam on backing vocals]  
__The reflex is an only child he's waiting in the park  
__The reflex is in charge of finding treasure in the dark  
__And watching over lucky clover isn't that bizarre  
__Every little thing the reflex does  
__Leaves you answered with a question mark_

* * *

Blaine was exhausted by the time he lay down on the sofa-bed in Cooper's study. He could hear Cooper and Sam going on and on about the décor in the Rocky-themed guest room down the hall. It was 11PM and he couldn't believe the two of them still had that much energy.

He checked his phone to see if he had missed anything in the din of their karaoke. Blaine almost always automatically scanned the list first for something from Kurt, then remembered with a pang that he shouldn't be. There was a missed call and a text from Tina checking in; a missed call and a voicemail from his mother checking in; a text from Unique with a picture of her, Marley, Jake, and Ryder making funny faces in the choir room. There was also a text from Mike with the name of a friend of his in Edinburgh who he met at the Joffrey that he wanted Blaine to connect with. There were no texts or missed calls from Sebastian, but Blaine wasn't surprised, remembering the whirlwind that was Kurt's first few months in New York.

He was texting Tina when his phone rang with his Wonderland ringtone.

"Hey, Seb!" he said, sounding pleasant surprised.

"Hi, Killer." Sebastian smiled broadly and stretched out on his bed. It was really good to hear Blaine's voice after a day crowded with new people.

"I didn't think you'd call, I figured you'd be at a party or something." Blaine looked up at the ceiling at Cooper's disturbing Godfather movie stills.

Sebastian propped himself up on his elbow. "You thought I'd pull a Hummel? No way. Killer, let's get this straight from the start here. If I say I'm going to call, you can count on it - I'm going to call. And I'll be here when _you _say you're going to call. And you can count on me picking up if you call me on the fly, if at all possible, especially in the middle of the night or whenever I know you could really need me. And you'll get a text if I can't."

Blaine's stomach wrenched at the mention of Kurt and the year prior, but was touched by Sebastian's very specific promises.

"Aww…you're the best, Seb."

"I know." Sebastian smirked.

"Shut up," Blaine laughed. "Now what have you been up to today?"

"Well, I got a Stanford email address and a pile of more paperwork on I don't know what else, and then I went to this club fair thing and I signed up for a crapton of stuff - I'm not even sure why."

Blaine chuckled. "What'd you sign up for? Lacrosse, of course…"

"Hell, it was a blur, I don't even remember…yeah lacrosse and also…fencing, triathlon, drama, golf, an acapella group, this thing called Ultimate Frisbee, I don't even know what that is exactly."

"Cute guy get you to sign up?" Blaine teased.

"Yeah," Sebastian admitted, laughing.

"Shocking," Blaine's laugh rang out. "You're so predictable. Well, you're going to be in killer shape if you really do all those sports..."

Sebastian laughed, "Or I'm going to get myself killed – trampled to death by all the jocks running around here. You should see the sheer volume of sweaty shirtless guys running around here in the hot California sun – the locker rooms are going to smell deathly." He paused. "Ok, ok, I know you're more interested in the acapella group. It's called Mixed Company, I guess because it's co-ed. It's the oldest co-ed acapella group on campus. They have a bunch of stuff about them on their website, I know you like that kind of stuff. They've done some cool shit – recorded studio albums, done some pretty racy satire…"

Blaine didn't hear anything after their name because all he could think about was Sebastian running sweaty and shirtless around the Stanford campus with a bunch of other hot, shirtless, sweaty guys.

"…They just seemed the least lame of all the acapella groups." Blaine shook himself out of his fantasy as Sebastian finished his description. "The Warblers could out-perform almost all of them, at least from the videos they were showing on their laptops."

"Awww, you're all sentimental now… Once a Warbler, always a Warbler."

"Oh, shut up."

"And hey, if there's one guy who can whip those Stanford kids into a legitimate threat, it's Sebastian Smythe."

Sebastian warmed when he realized Blaine remembered his compliment from so long ago. "If I'm going to whip anything right now, it better be my own lacrosse-playing ass if I want to make the team – they are headed towards making it a Division 1 sport before we graduate."

"Please, of course you'll make the team. Stop fishing for compliments, Smythe. What about the LGBT club? And are you going out for a fraternity?"

"Remember my dad was in a frat and he expects me to join it. So of course I'm not going to. I signed up for the LGBT email list and will show up for a couple of parties and support their causes and all that, but you know I'm not the lobbying and organizing type."

"True."

"And I know I can only do so much…I'd better be wise about how manage my time. Hell, I'll probably will end up dropping half of stuff I signed up for today…I'm pretty sure I already signed up for more than I can chew with my deranged decision to be a bus econ / EE double major. Add to it any internships, plus any social life I want to have outside of the jock and acapella set…"

"You sound so sure of yourself already."

"Oh, please. I still don't know where the hell anything is half the time. The campus feels way bigger than I remember from the admissions tours. Like this afternoon, I was reading some of the student health paperwork while we were walking back from the club fair and I glance up and Rob had this look on his face like – "uh-oh." I was just blindly following him and we ended up at the law school and had to look at a map like a tourist to get back to our own friggin dorm."

Blaine stifled a laugh as he asked, "So is Rob your roommate?"

"Yeah," Sebastian shook his head. "You can't fool me even over the phone…I know you're laughing at me, Anderson."

Blaine snorted. "I'm sorry, but…The Great Sebastian Smythe…walking around with your head down looking at a map and bumping into buildings."

Sebastian rolled his eyes. "Okay, ha ha ha, Sebastian got lost. Once I go for a couple of my morning runs hopefully I'll get my head screwed on straight spatially. And now we're officially done talking about me. What's the deal down south? Was Nick doing that thing where he taps his foot because he's nervous while you were moving him in at USC?"

"Ok, that's so funny you know that," Blaine laughed.

"Before every single Warbler performance. And was Sam carrying boxes in illogical ways to show off his biceps to Nick's female neighbors?"

"It's like you were there with us!"

"So I'm not the only one who is predictable."

"Wait, what can you predict about me?" Blaine asked, smiling.

"Let's see…you were being so helpful to everyone that someone asked if you were the RA."

"Ok, now you're spooking me out."

"I just spent like two weeks almost around the clock with you jokers," Sebastian grinned. "And how is Coop?"

"The same, fine. It's good to see him, even if he can still be incredibly annoying."

"And you?"

"I'm fine," Blaine said.

"B, it's me – don't give me your auto-reply." Then he said more gently, "I know you had six hours in the back of Duvall's Acura to brood. Doing okay about Scotland in a week?"

Blaine said more tentatively, "Yes, I guess."

"I don't totally believe that, but you have a week, Killer – you'll be fine. You'll have some fun with Sam in LA, it'll help you get revved up to go."

Blaine didn't respond.

" And then, just like at Dalton, and just like at McKinley, you're going to get there, figure that place out, start showing them who you really are, and everyone will fall in love with you. And then they won't be able to remember what it was like to not have Blaine Anderson, musical star, amongst them. They won't be able to imagine what it was like to not have you leading their team and supporting everyone with your heart that was built two sizes two large. They'll worship the ground you walk on. Then Oxford or Cambridge or whoever has the most amazing theatre arts program will offer you a full ride for the next four years and grant you instant British citizenship. Then you'll end up starring in every great production on the West End and you'll help Harry discover he's bisexual and become a duke or a prince and then the rest of us back here in The States are going to be screwed. "

A fond smile appeared on Blaine's lips as he shook his head. "I miss you so much," he blurted out without thinking.

Sebastian felt the twist in his heart again. He took a beat, but his voice came out _too_ light. "Right back at you, Killer."

There was an awkward pause.

"It sounds like you should slip on my hoodie, B – like an invisibility cloak. It will make for good dreams tonight, you can sneak around your subconscious unnoticed." Sebastian rolled his eyes listening to himself blather on like an idiot. "I should probably get some sleep, too. Okay?"

"Okay," said Blaine softly. "Good night, Seb."

"Good night, B."

Blaine slipped on the hoodie and burrowed into Sebastian's scent, thinking of Sebastian wrapped around him on their last night in San Francisco. He felt so safe there.

Sebastian ran his fingers through his hair and stared out the window at a tree branch. He tried very hard _not_ to think about what it was like to hold Blaine all night. It was going to be a long couple of months.

Then they lay there in their respective beds, with their eyes open, for a long time, until they fell asleep.

* * *

_**Author's Note: Thanks for reading! Hopefully you didn't cry too much in this chapter...and that Coop and Sam provided enough comic relief! Please drop a note and let us know what you're liking and not liking! It keeps us motivated!**_


	4. Of E-mails and Halloween

Welcome back to Seblaine, The College Years! A quick note to say:

Thanks so much to everyone who has reviewed, commented, favorited, followed and/or left kudos. It's great to hear what you liked about what you read and it motivates me to write more and better for you.

My amazing beta readers (Thomas, Dori, Rose, Tereza) and I back drafted three chapters before posting the first one, so editing these and getting them up pretty quickly. Going forward, I can't promise chapters after this will get cranked out so quickly, but here's hoping!

Darren's college buddies / fellow Starkids have been cast as Sebastian's roommate Rob and Sam's classmate Liam. Rob will be played with great laconic sweetness by none other than Joe Walker and Liam will be played with great hilarity by Dylan Saunders.

* * *

Sam woke up with a stiff back. He looked over to see Blaine leaning on one elbow, staring out the tiny airplane window.

"Hey." Sam rubbed his eyes.

"Hey," Blaine said without turning around, his voice sounding scratchy.

"How long was I asleep?"

"About an hour," Blaine replied, his voice choked.

"Hey, what's the matter?" Sam asked, touching Blaine's arm.

Blaine turned around, his eyes wet. "Oh…I'm just being stupid. I miss Kurt."

"Oh."

"It's just… about a month ago I was supposed to be on a plane just like this, flying to England, on our honeymoon. I know it doesn't sound that romantic, but he and I used to love reading Shakespeare when he had to study it for his senior year – we were going to do a whole Shakespeare pilgrimage."

Sam nodded sympathetically, fumbling in his mind for something to say.

"I just realized that haven't really let myself miss him in the last couple of weeks or so – it's been easy to distract myself with touring San Francisco and LA, and…" he trailed off.

"And Sebastian."

Blaine gave him a reproachful look. "Look Sam, I know I was staring at him, but I don't have any interest in…"

"I still don't believe you don't want to do him, but I wasn't bringing him up because of that. I mean you're wearing his hoodie again and you've been texting and calling him every day this week. Frankly, I'm a little worried about it. I thought you two might have a fling in San Francisco, but once he went off to Stanford you two would cool off. But you're almost talking to him MORE now. And h e can be kind of a jackass. Maybe you should tell him to leave you alone, give you some space to find yourself - like you've been talking about wanting this year."

Blaine said slowly. "Oh Sam, Sebastian can ACT like a jackass, but he really isn't one. He has really been my saving grace ever since the wedding." He paused, looking for an example. "Like when I was looking into that little theatre program in San Francisco, it was because I was panicking about leaving him and going to Scotland. I got way more excited about that program than I should have been. And Sebastian talked me out of it. He said he'd personally love it if I spent the year near him, but he thought I would get so much more out of Scotland. He completely talked me off the ledge. He even brought up how disappointed you would be if I ditched you at the last minute."

Sam's heart softened a bit. "Really?"

"Really. See? Not a jackass."

"But Sebastian has never had a boyfriend before, right? Just be careful, Blaine."

"Oh Sam, Sebastian is not my boyfriend. I don't think he even thinks about me that way."

"Of course he does. Would he be texting and calling you that much if he didn't like you?"

"I think he's calling because he wants to check in on me, as a friend," Blaine said firmly. "And because he needs a friend himself. He's adjusting to a lot of new stuff now, and he's not very comfortable telling other people his fears and about the stupid mistakes he's making because he's a freshman now. Not even Nick."

"Come on man, he didn't get on an airplane to Paris because he had to go stop your wedding. He gave you all that sheet music and remembered what duet you sang together in that skeevy piano bar. He sang that love song in his room about you when he didn't know you were listening, and he said all those nice things about you to Nick that you overheard. I saw him in San Francisco too, he was holding your hand and cuddling you in line for the buses and at the concert. The guy's in love with you – he is SO wanting to be gay version of Mike when he was with Tina." Sam quickly added awkwardly, "Or maybe he wants to be Tina. 'Cause you don't have to be the girl."

Blaine waved off the idea. "I don't know Sam, the more I think about it, more I'm sure he was just being a good friend and taking pity on me in San Francisco. He knows I like to cuddle and I think I even told him once that I was missing that part of being in a relationship. And as for the stuff before that…you have to remember that I was probably his first crush, ever. He never used to spend more than 20 minutes with guys before we met. So all of that was puppy love. And I think his crush on me wore off pretty quick when he saw what a blubbering wreck I was after the wedding. He was literally handing me tissues for my snot covered face that night after we watched that James Dean movie with all the Warblers on the wedding weekend. And besides, I honestly think Sebastian isn't interested in having a boyfriend. At least not now. He enjoys his freedom too much."

"I don't know, I see how he looks at you sometimes…" Sam faltered for words.

"He does care about me Sam…I'm not denying that. I'm probably his closest friend. But you know what? We were dancing and a little drunk at the Castro club Friday night and he didn't make a pass at me on the dance floor." Blaine looked a little offended. "And I was getting hit on by other guys there."

"Really?" Sam's eyes were wide. "Sebastian didn't try to grab your butt or anything? I just assumed you'd have to fight him off."

"Nothing. He was fighting off other guys who were trying to grope him and he was defending me, but he…_Sebastian Smythe_…didn't try ANYTHING," Blaine sounded almost disappointed. "And then when we got back to the hotel room…" he trailed off, embarrassed.

"Then what?"

"Ugh, it's kind of embarrassing."

"It's ok, it's me bro – you can tell me anything. Did he try to kiss you and then you slapped him?"

"You and Ryder have to stop watching those Spanish soap operas," said Blaine, rolling his eyes. "No. There was this moment where I thought we were going to kiss. But he didn't kiss me and I now think I just made that moment up in my head because I was kind of feeling romantic." Blaine smiled at the memory. "I mean anyone would feel romantic about him that night. After dancing in the Castro we went to this restaurant at the top of hotel. It's called the Top of the Mark and it was so elegant and gorgeous and romantic and there was a jazz band we danced to. You know me, I'm in love with the idea of love. And that part of the night was pure romance."

Sam was unimpressed. "It's probably good he didn't kiss you."

Blaine groaned. "I'm not sure what we _did_ do was much better, though."

Sam's eyes widened. "There's more?! Did you lie to your brother? Dude, have you been holding out on me all week? What happened?!"

"No I didn't lie to Cooper, we didn't sleep together. But it's almost as bad." Blaine covered his face with his hands. "After we had gotten into our beds, I was feeling more and more sad about leaving him." He looked up from his hands to explain. "I mean he's been like my protector and such an incredibly good friend and everything for weeks since the wedding and he was also really there for me through our senior year when Kurt and I broke up the first time…"

"So what did you do?!" Sam was impatient.

Blaine slapped his forehead. "I came over to his bed and told him how much I was going to miss him and then I made him cuddle with me."

"Oooh." Sam gritted his teeth.

Blaine continued, squeezing his eyes shut at the memory. "And when I started cuddling with him, he kind of freaked out about it – well he didn't actually freak out, Seb doesn't really freak out – but he told me to stop, and said that he didn't want to be my rebound guy because for me kissing and sleeping together would mean I would get all emotional and then we might not be able to be friends…"

Sam's blinked at him. "So it was the kind of cuddling that was leading to kissing and sleeping together?"

"He thought so. I can see why, I had wrapped one leg around his lower body."

Sam sucked in a breath and gritted his teeth again.

"But did_ you_ want it to lead to kissing and sleeping together?"

Blaine's forehead wrinkled. "I don't know…maybe? I was pretty emotional about how much I was going to miss him…so, maybe? I definitely wasn't thinking about it consciously at the time…I know it would have been way too soon after Kurt. But in the brief moment when he held me, it felt good to be with him like that – romantically, I mean – so maybe if it had gone on longer I might have been open to going there?" Blaine looked out the window again. "Or maybe I just wanted to be held." "It doesn't matter though, because he was definitely not into it. Like I said, I don't think he likes me romantically anymore. Especially now that he's surrounded by hot guys at Stanford. He's gonna have his pick of hook ups and boyfriends there and he's probably forgotten about me as a romantic option already. I can tell already, ever since he got there he hasn't been very..."

Sam looked stern. "Uh oh…is he being a jerk again?"

"No, not at all. He's been great, very supportive, helping me get in a good place mentally about this year. It's just…he never says anything…sweet. Like he never says he misses me." Blaine looked worried. "Ugh, Sebastian is complicated. He's so different than Kurt, Kurt just loved me…that was it."

Sam raised his eyebrows. Kurt was many things, but Sam never thought of him as uncomplicated.

"Sam, maybe I've been obsessing about Sebastian because I miss Kurt? Maybe I just miss having a boyfriend – or fiancé?"

"Huh." Sam considered this.

Blaine went on. "But I really do care about Sebastian…I just don't know what my feelings are for him, if they are romantic or what. I mean I have been in love with Kurt for so long, I don't think I know what being in love with anyone else might feel like. Or maybe I'm not falling in love, maybe I'm just taking all my feelings for Kurt and directing them at Seb. I could be making up a new perfect fantasy with him - he's so charming, funny, smart, handsome - it would be easy to do that. And if there's anything I learned from the engagement fiasco, it's that I can't go looking for perfection in romance." Blaine shook his head. "Anyway, it doesn't really matter now because I don't think he feels anything romantic about me anymore."

Sam looked thoughtful. "Hey Blaine, how about not worrying about that for awhile? Wasn't this year supposed to be about focusing on yourself?"

Blaine shook himself. "Yes, yes, you're right. I am kind of such a pathetic mess, aren't I? You're right. I want to be single this year and not obsess about love and romance."

"So maybe you should stop talking to not just Kurt, but Sebastian, too?"

"No, I don't want to do that." Blaine replied quickly. "I mean I don't even know what my feelings are for him. What if in a few more months I don't feel anything and realize I just was missing having a boyfriend? I really do cherish our friendship and I'd never want to hurt him by cutting things off, especially if there might not be any good reason to. And he needs me right now. And honestly, I could use his support, too. I'll just have to stop trying so hard to figure out how I feel about him and if he might get back to liking me and what we are and where this is going and all that stuff. We should just be friends."

"Wait, didn't Sebastian say that no two gay dudes can just be friends?"

"Oh, that's just his ridiculous theory. Of course we can just be friends." Blaine was thoughtful. " I miss my friend."

"I know, dude." Sam was sympathetic. "I'm not as tall as him, but I'll let you cuddle with me if you want."

Blaine smiled fondly at him. "You are the best friend ever."

"_WE_ are the best_ friends_ ever!" Sam grinned, raising his hand in the air.

"Blam!" they said too loudly, high fiving and making the passenger next to Sam jump.

"Oh, we're so sorry ma'am," Blaine apologized.

"Um yeah, we're sorry…would you like a Mickey Mouse cookie?" Sam offered.

Blaine laughed. "How many of those did you steal from Cooper?"

* * *

_To: Sebastian Smythe _

_From: Blaine Anderson_

_Date: October 14, 2013_

_Subject: cancelling our call_

_Dear Seb,_

_I'm giving up on us trying to make the time zones work during the week. You are in your rehearsal right now so I'm going to email you instead of text you because I know you'll just get up and start text fighting with me about this and your acapella friends will get mad at you again. I am officially cancelling our 10PM (Pacific) phone call. I know that you're just getting your post-dinner second wind at 10PM, but the 6AM Skype calls are getting old on my end. I know it's the only time between our schedules (we really both need to lay off the 8AM practices/classes next term), but I just don't think I can sustain it. Sam keeps me up too late with his gossip and comic book analyses and trying out his latest impression, plus I've got more homework than I thought I would. Plus, no one should really be subjected to me at that time in the morning, anyway - I'm sure you haven't been appreciating my Medusa-head that close to your bedtime, either – it's probably been giving you nightmares __. _

_So I'm going back to old-fashioned e-mail, because I refuse to be lured into Skype text conversations with you while you're in class. So don't be surprised if I ignore you, it's for your own good. What's the point of paying all that tuition if you are just going to text me during your lectures? And we can still skype on weekends._

_Hmm…well I think the advantage of old fashioned email is it gives me a moment to stop and reflect a little while I write. It's actually been just about one month since we got here, so this is actually a perfect time to stop and take stock._

_So let's see…_

_Academically, things are going well, as I guess I've told you generally already. __The curriculum is so much broader than I think it is in the US. I've attached a picture classmate took of me in the recording studio, I think I was recording "Beauty and the Beast" there. I thought the reflection in the piano was pretty cool, even if I was having a bad hair day (Sam had kept me up really late that night with a new video game)._

_[see Blaine's photo at the archiveofourown version of this story or imgurDOTcom/L92sYr7DOTjpg]_

_The only thing about the classes is that I haven't really gotten to know anyone from them that well. They all seem friendly, but I find myself freezing up a bit before and after class, so I haven't approached anyone, and no one has approached me. They all seem to know each other from some sort of feeder high school. _

_Outside of class, at least there are all the other students from the dorm I've mentioned we've been going out with, including those guys Liam and Scott from Sam's art program. I'm sure you can tell from the Facebook pictures I've been posting that they are all fun. The only thing is, it's been a month and I don't really feel close to any of them. I don't remember it taking so long when I started at Dalton. _

_Maybe it's the drinking culture. You know I don't drink that much (though when I do I know you love it), but they hit the pub almost every night at least for an hour or two, and there are too many people for any real in depth conversation, plus it's not even really the right atmosphere for it. And I'm still getting used to how strong the beer is, and the fact that it's always served at room temperature. A lot of people smoke here, too, though it's not allowed in the pub anymore, thank goodness. But the minute you walk out of the pub you smell it in the student union – yuck. _

_The other reason I was thinking it might be is plain old cultural difference. I've noticed that a lot of the time the British sense of humor is darker than the mainstream American brand of humor. Everyone is about being very self deprecating, critical, and ironic. Hey, are you British? __ As you know, those things aren't really in the core of who I am. They make fun of Disney all the time…like the reaction to my new arrangement and performance of Beauty and the Beast was not too well received. Mostly polite clapping. Maybe I'm too sincere for this country – I feel like a Peanuts character in a Tim Burton movie._

_Also this isn't like Stanford or even high school, there aren't lots of clubs to join – it's just a pure arts school and there are a good number of students who are just "commuter" students who come and go and don't really hang out at school. And there's no courtyard or Lima Bean, just this gross cafeteria. No real quad area or places to hang out like the ones you've been describing to me at Stanford. So it's just not that conducive to being very social, except at the student pub, of course._

_At least I have Sam. It's been interesting to explore Edinburgh together, though I have to say that I do not really love how much we're getting lost. It's an old city and not really that logically laid out. If this was a one-time visit like when we were in San Francisco, I think I might just laugh it off like Sam does. But I think I am anxious to feel settled here, so getting lost all the time just makes me annoyed because I want to just snap my fingers and feel at instantly at home and familiar with everything here. _

_Yesterday in our explorations, I was able to find Nicholson's Café, where J.K. Rowling wrote a lot of the Harry Potter books. I still can't believe you've only read the first one. What can I do to get you to read the rest?! Why do I have you in my life again?!_

_The other big news around here is that Sam's finished his macaroni portrait of me, but he won't let me take a picture of it to send to you. He says he'll bring it home at Christmas for you to see it in person, that a photo won't do the texture justice. I think it's kind of depressing looking, I look super sad – but he says his teacher liked it a lot, and he's trying some new stuff this week with different media (mediums?). It's cool to see Sam so into his art, he's getting a lot out of this program. _

_Maybe more interesting to you is that this week he started dating a Scottish redhead named Mary, AND an English girl named Rebecca! He's got his hands full!_

_Well, I've gone on long enough. I think this is serving kind of as a journal for my year. Hope you don't mind. No need to write as much when you reply. _

_BUT, do tell me all the latest. What else are you learning about Rob? I look forward to meeting him someday. Tell me more about your other friends – that lacrosse guy Thomas, maybe? Or anyone else you think is interesting. Have you gotten to see David over at UC Berkeley? I bet you miss the Warblers, I know I did every day I was at McKinley. Were you and Nick able to coordinate seeing each other for the USC / Stanford game? I'm bummed I'm going to miss the epic smack talk that week. Coop says that you can stay with him if it's in LA. When is your audition for that competition solo coming up for Mixed Company? Is your knee feeling better?_

_And I would like your overall reflections on your first six weeks at Stanford, please. Note that this is not an admissions essay question. But you should do it, as you will appreciate it when you write your memoirs someday, Mr. Smythe._

_And let's Skype on Saturday, how about 3PM your time, 11PM my time? I think you said you have triathlon training all morning and then something else after that?_

_ Love, _

_Blaine_

_P.S. If we really wanted to do the cool old-school correspondence, we would write letters with beautiful fountain pens on gorgeous stationary and seal them with sealing wax. But I guess we're too impatient for that now. _

_To: Blaine Anderson _

_From: Sebastian Smythe _

_Date: October 14, 2013_

_Subject: Re: cancelling our call_

_Killer,_

_This e-mail business feels kind of ridiculous, but ok. I certainly would not want to intrude on your beauty sleep, which would be an international disaster of epic proportions. The Blaine Anderson pretty-meter declines – headline news!_

_I still think we can find time during the day or at night, maybe between classes? What can I say, I like the instant gratification of texting. And I like your Medusa hair. Seriously. I do. Sexy. _

_But yeah, you probably are right about not texting in class. I got my first midterm back, i.e., I got my ass handed to me by my engineering professor. Yes, EE is still taking me down, one goddamned equation at a time. It's humiliating. The Warblers probably would love to hear all this, so please, feel free to NOT broadcast all this until I get my act together._

_ So yeah, if you want me to reflect, I think the record will reflect that Sebastian Smythe may not be as smart as he thought he was. It's such a fucking cliché, being a small fish in a big pond – blah blah blah. But here I am, studying my ass off and I still got a, I shit you not, a B- on my midterm. Smythes do not get B's, let alone B-'s. This is depressing. There's no chance in hell I'm going to get into Harvard or Wharton business school with grades like that. Don't make me reflect anymore. No one is going to want to read the memoir of the Smythe that failed after peaking in high school. _

_I guess I probably haven't moaned to you about my other classes, but they aren't a walk in the park, either. My history class doesn't sound like it's going to be too difficult in terms of the exams, but the sheer volume of reading we have to do makes Dalton look like a Montessori school. My lit class is the same way. Only Calculus isn't so bad. _

_At least classes are smoother sailing for you, so one of us will graduate from these institutions of higher learning we have chosen._

_And about your social life, I wouldn't worry too much about it. People love you once they get to know you – it just doesn't sound like there's been a lot of opportunity – it's only been a month. Just have patience, Killer. You have to remember that Dalton and especially the Warblers were kind of cultish – and you had performance opportunities right away there, which it doesn't sound like you've had yet over there. Once you do one of your spins and give them the Blaine Anderson sparkle, I bet they'll be at your feet once again. And never deny your Disney prince side. I know I've teased you about it, but _Beauty and the Beast_ won the golden globe for best picture. So if your pretentious British classmates are too snotty to appreciate it, then stick with Sam's art school buddies._

_Not that you have to perform for people to want to be close to you. It's just an easy channel for people to see a true bit of you. You express a part of your true self so effortlessly when you perform. I'm not sure I'm making sense, my brain is fried. I stayed up until 3AM reading fucking Chaucer for my lit class. If you see any descendants of that idiot while you're in England, shoot them for me. _

_ And as for getting lost, that's natural – old European cities are insanely illogical. And I seem to recall that you have a bit of an over-reliance on GPS, Inspector Gadget. So it might take you a little longer than others. Patience, young grasshopper. _

_ Tell Sam I'm glad someone is getting laid. And tell him I have a morbid curiosity about seeing the MacBlaineroni masterpiece at Christmas. Also tell him that I was in downtown last weekend and wandered into a comic book store that had a super old copy of a Flash comic I'm pretty sure he doesn't have. I picked it up for him and should get it in the post this week –so tell him to look for it next week. I guess I should get Sam's email address from you and tell him all this myself. _

_To answer your other questions:_

_1) Harry Potter – ok ok, I'll get around to it someday. Good enough? I thought the first one was good, for a kids book. You are such a nerd._

_2) The latest thing I've learned about Rob is that he walked a neighbor's pig when he was growing up in the small rural town he was born in. Walked it like a dog. You know I don't even like dogs, so I'm not sure I can be more repulsed. Rob says it is important to "educate me about the little people," because he's convinced I will be a political strategist someday and not a Silicon Valley tycoon (he's watched me yell at the television during Hardball and Charlie Rose). I listen to his yarns about Ojai and Fillmore (where he grew up) since he's not an asshole about it, and because I think he's a little homesick. _

_He got a kick out of telling me all about his uncle's ranch during most of our drive to Santa Cruz last weekend. Santa Cruz is a beach city about an hour from here. We decided to blow off our homework Saturday so he could show me a real, warm California beach (not like those cold ones we went to in San Francisco) before the weather cools off. I flirted with some girls on the beach for him and he got some phone numbers. We paid for it Sunday though, I went to bed at like 2 to get my Calculus problem set done. But it was worth it. _

_Rob is very mellow, which is rare amongst some of the Type-A manic people around here. He reminds me a lot of Meatbox, except less skeevy, and more cowboy. We talk about other stuff too, the way you say you and Sam do. So he's not so bad.  
_

_3) Thomas. Good guy, from Germany. Not just impressive at lacrosse, but does century (100 mile) bike rides and raises money for cancer and stuff. Cool dude. Trying to get him to do the triathlon with me.  
_

_4) Haven't seen David yet. Stuff keeps coming up and we haven't been able to find time between our schedules. At the very least, we are grabbing a covert coffee before The Big Game (the Cal/Stanford game). The Big Game football rivalry is ridiculous; I fear for his safety if he comes on campus, I swear they'd smell the Berkeley on him. It should be Warbler gold when we finally get our act together and have a good hang. He was one of my favorites – don't tell the others, I know they would all be insanely jealous. Especially Nick.  
_

_5) Nick and I are seeing each other in November for the USC/Stanford game. It's up here this year and David will come across the bay for it, too. Unfortunately he'll have to sit with Nick because Cal guys always root for whoever Stanford is playing. By the way, tell Sam (because I know he gossips like a woman) that Nick is dating a girl he met at freshman orientation - they've been dating since before school go started, and are still going nauseatingly strong. Also tell him I don't know anything more, not her name or her shoe size, so you'll have to ask David or one of the other Warblers if you need more deets.  
_

_6) My solo audition is tomorrow – I'm doing " Runaway with Me " – you know that one (__Kerrigan-Lowdermilk)__, right? I've never performed it or sung it for an audition but they wanted us to do a Broadway song and that's the one I know best, just from messing around on my own.  
_

_7) Yeah, my knee is better- just strained a ligament or a tendon or something. I stayed off of it and just did conditioning for a couple of days and it's totally better.  
_

_8) Overall reflections – damn, you know I'm not good at this stuff, especially on the spot. _

_Well I covered my academic impressions already. On the whole I'd say that I have no regrets about Stanford overall – it's impressive and challenging and has an extraordinary tradition and it's entertaining on top of that. For example, I don't think I've mentioned that there is this crazy tradition called "Full Moon on the Quad" next week where seniors come at 11PM to kiss freshmen on the Main Quad until 1AM. It's a tradition from the 1800's when senior men would bring a rose for permission to give a peck on the cheek to freshman girls. Now there's alcohol and food trucks and free mouthwash. I think I have to go just to see the mayhem. I'm told they split gay and straight and that freshmen have to give consent. We'll see if anyone meets my standards (after being around the flawlessness of Blaine Anderson so much the last couple of months, I doubt it), or if I get bored I can always pass for straight and freak out the senior girls when I tell them they've turned me gay and walk over to the gay kissing line. _

_In terms of regular social life, it's fine. Like you, I don't know anyone too well yet outside of maybe Rob, but honestly I don't really mind. I'm good with the people I already have in my life (yes, like you blushing schoolboy), and the rest work well enough as diversions or companions in blowing off steam._

_I've told you the lacrosse and the triathlon guys like to party, but let me tell you the craziest party I've been to was a Stanford Marching Band party with Rob. Those guys are seriously certifiable. They took part of an abandoned ROTC building and the place looks like the most disgusting frat house you could possibly imagine. They call it the Band Shak (that is not a type-o). The carpet was the most vile smelling thing I've ever whiffed, there were coolers of questionable food, sketchy sofas, road signs stolen from the Google campus and other illustrious locations. They were dancing, playing live music (there was some serious talent) and shit, I've never seen so much drinking in one night. Who knew the band geeks would be the biggest animals on campus? _

_Is that good enough for now? I think my email is now longer than yours, how the hell did that happen? Yes, let's skype, email isn't the same: Sat 3PM PT/ 11PM your time is good. I can do anything after noon if you want to do earlier. Sorry my schedule is so nuts._

_Seb_

_P.S. Rob took this in Santa Cruz. I had to show you my new hoodie. You know you want it. (author's note: see archiveofourown copy of this story or _imgurDOTcom/Tycy3ZSDOTjpg)

* * *

"What are you even supposed to be?" asked Sam, bewildered.

"Thurston Howell the Third, from Gilligan's Island, duh!" said Blaine. "See, I even grew some stubble and used less gel to make it more like his hair! I got some stuff to streak it gray, too!"

"Blaine, you are a gay guy and it's Halloween. You have to dress man-slutty."

"Man what?"

"Man-slutty. Man, who is slutty."

"Why? Halloween is about creativity and mystery…"

"And sluttiness. It's part of the Halloween doctrine."

"There's a Halloween doctrine?"

"Blaine, you are literally dressed like a 70 year old man. Plus no one in Britain has watched Gilligan's Island."

"That's not true. It was in syndication all over the world."

"Like 40 years ago."

"I like being retro, it's part of my signature style." Blaine sniffed.

Sam stopped fixing his hair in the mirror to turn and face his roommate. "Blaine, I'm going to stop beating around the bush here. My goal tonight is to get you laid. And that outfit is not going to help, in fact it will make meeting my goal harder. Actually because it will make _no gay guy_ harder."

"Sam!" Blaine laughed in spite of himself.

"I'm serious, dude. We've been here over a month and you haven't even flirted with anyone. All you do is moan about how much you miss being engaged to Kurt and write Sebastian super long emails and drool over how sweaty and sometimes shirtless he is when he Skypes you on the weekends – yeah don't think I don't notice you panting over your laptop. There are cool gay dudes right here! We are in an arts school, there are tons of them! Big husky, gay Scottish dudes like our man Liam! Liam seriously wants to do you. He tells me like every day when I see him in class."

"I've told you he's not my type."

"You don't have to marr - " Sam stopped himself. "You don't have to date him! You should just, you know…you should get some release!"

Blaine cheekily gestured with his arms, " That's why they invented masturbation… "

"But some intimate connection with another human being, Blaine…that would be good!"

Blaine sat down and looked at Sam with a little bit of sadness in his eyes. "No Sam, just no. I'm not ready."

Sam finally relented. "I'm sorry Blaine, I didn't mean to make you sad. It's ok, we can have fun anyway. Will you promise me that you'll at least flirt with someone tonight? Just give them one of your flirty smiles? Or at least dance? You are total tease when you dance. You can strip that blazer off and do a body roll or twerk…"

Blaine laughed, smacking Sam's arm. "No stripping, but yes, I'll dance. And I'm sorry if I've been a drag to be around. I really do want to have fun tonight with you. I love Halloween."

"Ok, but don't get carried away with having fun. When you get too drunk you get way too flirty. You need to keep your hands to yourself at least with me, 'cause Mary already thinks you and I bonk each other. And I know you think I'm hot in my Sexy Harry Potter costume."

Blaine shook his head, "JK Rowling would be appalled if she knew someone was being a shirtless Harry. It's like Stripper Harry Potter. Ugh!"

"I'm wearing the tie and cape thing at least!"

* * *

"Well holy hell, the NYPD let Senorita Lopez off probation for a weekend…" Sebastian looped a long arm around her shoulders when she came off the escalator near baggage claim.

"Hugs? California has ruined you!" Santana leaned into him in spite of her sharp words.

"Don't worry, I still have enough poison in my veins for your taste," Sebastian smirked. "But yeah, you weren't far off… Stanford people are mostly so nice that I want to blow my brains out."

"There's my boy."

"You ready to Halloween it up, California style?" Sebastian took her bag and pulled her suitcase along, leading her to the parking garage.

"The question is, is California ready for me? Santana took a sip from her water bottle. "Is Stanford far from here?"

"Half an hour or so. But we can feed your delicate appetite on the way to your hotel if you haven't had lunch yet – I can't have your New York palate come and eat hotel restaurant food or even worse, our dorm cuisine, when the eating is so good in Palo Alto and Mountain View."

"Nah, I had enough on the plane," They were silent briefly as he unlocked the car put her bag in the trunk, and she climbed in the passenger seat.

Sebastian climbed into the driver's seat. "So, how are Queen Babs and the ugliest lady in waiting, ever?"

"Smythe, you are a beast – you won! Kurt and Blaine didn't get married…lay off my gay."

Sebastian started the car and backed out. "What?! I'm just saying Hummel would be an ugly woman. So would I! And I am asking about his well-being, aren't you impressed by that? Wondering how he's holding up, because Blaine's been a delicate mess for what's felt like several dynasties. He doesn't say much about it, but he's still pretty mopey most days, I can see it even in a skype call. "

"It's only been a couple of months, you cold-hearted bastard." Santana smacked him.

"10 weeks, but who's counting? And don't touch the driver, it's dangerous!" Sebastian said, leaning away from her and up against the steering wheel. "And get your feet off my dash." He batted at her legs.

"Stop trying to cop a feel," Santana said, lowering her feet. "Kurt's doing ok, making himself madly busy starting a band on top of Vogue, a job at the diner with me, classes, and everything else."

"Remind me to mock you about that band geek diner uniform I saw you post on Facebook. And Lady Hummel's still not talking to our little Blaine, right?"

"No sweetheart, don't worry," Santana teased.

Sebastian shook his head. "I'm not worried, Gossip Girl."

* * *

"CHUG! CHUG! CHUG! CHUG!"

Blaine thought he was going to throw up. And once he threw up, he was going to kill Sam for (1) teaching their friends in the International House the American party chant and (2) telling them that Blaine had never had Guinness.

When he finally was released from the wrestling hold of his so-called friend Scott, he sat down to get his bearings. A blonde girl dressed as a nurse came over and sat in his lap. Blaine didn't dare move or he was might throw up in her lap. "Say something," she slurred, running her hands through his hair and completely ruining it. "Say anything. American accents are so fucking sexy."

"I can't say anything, I feel really nauseous and I might puke Guinness all over you," he said, looking pathetic. "That stuff is not a drink…it's a…it's a…meal." Whatever stuff was in Guinness was not the same stuff that was in the wine coolers, light beer and other alcoholic drinks at home that made Blaine a happy, romantic drunk. Or maybe it was the combination of the Guinness and the haggis someone made him try earlier. Then he caught a whiff of someone's joint as they walked by, and he got more nauseous.

"Of course you can say something! You just said something!" giggled the blonde. "I'm not getting off your lap until you say something," she pouted.

Blaine looked desperate. "What do you want me to say?"

"Hmmm," she said, leaning into him, chest in his face. "Tell me what Nurse Bella can do to make you feel better…"

Blaine felt a wave of nausea and was starting to feel flushed. "Bella you should really get off me right now, I actually was serious about feeling nauseous and I now I'm feeling kind of hot…I think I'd better…"

"You _are_ really hot," she said, putting one hand on his forehead and running the other hand through his hair again. She got up for a moment and he sighed in relief until she sat right back down, this time straddling his lap so she could quickly remove his jacket. "Let me help you feel more comfortable…"

"Oohh ok Bella, I should tell you right now that…" he was interrupted by her kissing him passionately. Blaine arms flailed, trying to push her off.

Liam walked by. "Not your team!" he hollered at Bella.

She yanked herself away, accidentally bumping Blaine roughly as she got up.

That did it. Thurston Howell the Third was going to need new shoes.

* * *

"There's a pretty good Despicable Me guy… oh and Liberace. And a guy wearing what appears to be an asbestos tile with a hole cut in it for his head, apparently dressed as the Debt Ceiling." Rob was commenting on the costumes of fellow students parading by the dormitory window.

"Wow, you guys really are in dork country." Santana remarked, laying down on the small couch in their suite.

"You have no idea," Sebastian commented loudly from the bathroom, where he was putting the final touches on his costume. "My electrical engineering classmates have turned dorkdom into an art form."

Rob pressed his nose to the glass. "It's too bad we can't be in two places at once, Santana. It would be great to show you all these students dancing on Leland Stanford's grave tonight. That's Stanford's most awesome tradition of them all, if you asked me."

"I appreciate the heretic sentiment, but I'd rather see the city and be with the gays tonight." Santana said, scrolling her Facebook on her phone.

Rob turned from the darkened window to announce, "That is the fifth 'Orange is the New Black' costume I've seen – if the women are that scantily dressed on that show, I should tell the Band about it."

"As if the Band ever stopped drinking long enough to watch TV," Sebastian said, smirking.

"Tell me sooner when the slutty women come by, I'll get up and come to the window," Santana said languidly.

"Don't let her boss you around, Rob!" Sebastian called.

"Don't let him tell you how to treat me, Rob!" Santana retorted.

In just a few hours, Rob had learned when to just ignore exchanges between Sebastian and his sharp-tongued, amusing friend. "Seb, are you done in there yet? 'Cause I have some costume make-up to put on, too. He left the window to check-in on his roommate. He called from the bathroom to Santana. "Oh, he has all his make-up on." He returned to the common area. "Now he's doing his hair. This could take awhile. Do you want a snack?"

Santana shook her head, then yelled, "Smythe, get your ass in hyperdrive!"

"That will be later tonight!" Sebastian called.

Rob laughed. "Did Sebastian spend as much time on his hair in high school as he does now?"

"I can tell you he wore a lot more gel in it. It went with the uniform. If you think he's preppy now, you should have seen him with his little prep school buddies, matching shoes and ties and sweater vests."

Sebastian called, "I never wore the sweater vest. Not once. And Rob, you should know that all that big talk comes from Little Miss Pom Poms, who wore a slutty cheerleader uniform like a suit of armor everyday at her little public school."

"He didn't need a slutty uniform, he could have worn a turtleneck to school and he still would have been slutty."

"You're one to talk!"

"Watch this," Santana said Rob in an undertone. "Stop airing our dirty laundry, SEBBY!"

"DO NOT CALL ME THAT. Rob, you need to know that under no uncertain terms are you or anyone we know to ever, _EVER_ call me that. And I'm not fucking around about that."

"Okay, that really is a hot button," Rob chuckled to Santana. He called, "Got it loud and clear, captain. But speaking of not fucking around, I'm thinking you guys need to be helping me fend off the gays tonight, right? How scared do I need to be about going with you on Halloween to the Castro?"

"VERY SCARED," Sebastian and Santana proclaimed loudly together.

Sebastian walked out of the bathroom in clown make-up, rainbow suspenders, no shirt , tight plaid shorts and white gloves. He spun the bowler hat he was carrying and flipped it in the air. You guys ready to go yet?"

"That's it? That's what you're wearing?" Santana said, scrunching up her nose.

"Sexy Clown. That's all that was left by the time I hit the costume shop yesterday," Sebastian shrugged. "I just pulled an allnighter for my history midterm, you're lucky I'm even awake." He came over to her, towering over her and pouting. "What, you don't like it? I'm gonna cry my big clown tears on you and streak your Cleopatra make-up! Boo hoo!"

"Ok, your pout with that happy smile painted on is mucho creepy," Santana said, smirking and scooting away. Rub every bit of that white crap off your face, and the mouth. You can keep the nose and the eyebrows, that's it."

"Bossy!" Sebastian laughed, grabbing a towel and wetting it in the bathroom.

"Hey, I'm just trying to make sure you get some action tonight," Santana replied, examining her fingernails.

She paced the room while they waited for Rob. She picked up a beautifully framed photograph of the Warblers, a casual group shot where Sebastian held Jeff in a headlock; David was being held sideways but also looked like he was about to be dropped; Nick, Meatbox, and Thad were jumping in the air above the group; and rest of the Warblers were making various faces. She smiled in spite of herself. "Sentimental! You guys were such an amusing bunch of ninnies," she said, pointing at the frame.

"Don't mock the Warbler gold. Blaine told me about all the insane primadonna infighting all you McKinley misfits did, you can only wish to be as tight as the Warblers are." He lay down on his bed and moaned as he rubbed off the white clown make-up. "Shit, I'm so beat. You and Rob should just go without me, I might fall asleep on the street and you wouldn't be able to carry me home because you're a weak little woman."

"Oh no no no," Santana said, coming over to jab him in the ribs.

"Argh! Lopez! Leave me alone! I didn't sleep last night!"

"I came all the way from New York, Slick. You are showing me a good time in the city."

"Fine. But let a man lay here until Rob's ready."

"Fine." Santana continued her walk around the room. She picked up a framed photo of a beautiful older woman. "Your mom?"

"Yes."

"You look like her." Santana had noticed an odd quality to his voice, and chose not to ask more. Instead, she chose another line of questioning. "Why isn't there a framed picture of little B?"

"Who?" Sebastian asked, eyes still closed.

"Blaine? You know, your beloved? The light of your life? The fire for your loins?"

Sebastian threw a box of Kleenex with precision at her shoulder.

"Ow! What? I'm just wondering why you don't have one of his headshots framed on your bedside table for masturbation purposes."

"Like the one you have of Brittany nailed to your ceiling?"

"Bitch!" she came over to sit on him.

"Whore!" he grunted. "Did you gain some weight?"

She grabbed his ear.

"Ow! Aren't women supposed to be nurturing and shit?"

Rob emerged from the bathroom dressed as a Star Trek character. "Ok, I'm ready to roll."

Santana got up and looked at Sebastian, who was sitting up.

"Yeah, he's actually one of the dorks, too. But his mom makes killer cookies."

Santana remarked, "Buddy, you don't have to worry too much about the predatory gays in that outfit."

* * *

Blaine slowly got his phone out to Skype-text Sebastian.

_BLAINE: Happy Halloween, I just puked. That is your Blaine report for the day._

_SEBASTIAN: Oh that sucks. Make sure you drink a ton of water. Where the hell is Sam? He's supposed take care of you. Are you home, or at that Halloween party still? _

_BLAINE: Yeah, I'm still at the party, I don't know why. _

_SEBASTIAN: Who threw the party? Can you go into one of the bedrooms to lie down?_

_BLAINE: Three flats on the top floor of our dorm combined forces to make me throw up. I'm pretty sure all the bedrooms are occupied by people snogging or shagging. Is Santana there yet?_

_SEBASTIAN: It's good to know you are well-versed on the hooking-up lingo there in the great UK. Yes, Tana's here and she's already wreaking havoc in my life. I didn't end up sleeping at all last night because of that midterm, and she's insisting I still take her to the Castro to raise the roof somewhere._

_BLAINE: I know you love her or you wouldn't have invited her for Halloween. Tell her I love her and that she should come take care of me instead of you._

_SEBASTIAN: She'd just tell you to suck it up, that's all the TLC I'm getting from her._

_BLAINE: You guys should go to that club you and I went to…Q Bar. What are you guys doing now, it's still early, right?_

_SEBASTIAN: We're at dinner with Rob in the Marina before we head into the Castro. We're having like a three hour dinner and drinks since we have time to kill before the clubs get hopping. _

_BLAINE: I'm glad you're spending Halloween with Rob too, he seems like such a good guy. Three hours for dinner sounds so leisurely and fun. Santana can keep you entertained for that long, too._

_SEBASTIAN: Yeah I haven't done this in forever. I'm eating the whole menu since I'm going to dance it off tonight. It's like I'm back in France except the waiters are rushing us to turn over the table. I hate America sometimes. You shouldn't hurry back. _

_BLAINE: It sounds like fun, anyway. I love San Francisco so much. I wish I was with you guys._

_SEBASTIAN: Isn't it 3AM over there? Especially if you threw up, you should just go home. And don't forget to drink a lot of water.  
__SEBASTIAN: Like a gallon.  
__SEBASTIAN: And makes sure you rinse any puke out of your hair, even if you're super exhausted. You don't want to wake up with that.  
__SEBASTIAN: And brush your teeth, You want to minimize whatever your mouth is going to taste like in the morning._

Blaine suddenly missed having Sebastian take care of him. He started to text a reply as he slowly stood up. Sam walked by, carrying a beer in each hand. "Sam, I'm going to go home."

"What? No way, Blainey! It's so early!" Sam was definitely drunk, really, really super-drunk.

"It's 3AM. I danced, like you said. I had some fun. Then you became an evil haggis and Guinness pusher with all your art school friends. Then, even though it was way past midnight, I turned into pumpkin. Or jack o lantern. Then I threw up my pumpkin guts."

"Oh come on, Blaine…I was just going to get the karaoke started! You can't resist a microphone, I know that!"

Blaine shook his head.

Sam grabbed his phone out of his hand. "Who are you texting?" He leered. "Booty call?"

"Just Seb," Blaine swiped at him to get the phone back, still feeling unsteady on his feet.

"Sebastian? No, not Sebastian AGAIN!" Sam declared dramatically, "That dude has you chained to him and the Yanks by e-mail and Skype! You gotta live a little here in GREAT Britain!" Grinning, he started texting on Blaine's phone.

"What are you doing Sam? Give that to me!"

Sam used his height and strength advantage and kept the phone out of reach as he walked away, texting furiously.

"Give it back!"

* * *

"Who are you texting?" Santana came back to their table from the restroom and stood behind Sebastian's shoulder. "Put it away, I am Cleopatra and you must be my court jester, creepy-clown boy! All hail!"

Rob laughed.

"Hmm? Oh, it's just Blaine. He threw up and I'm reminding him of what to do before he goes to bed, since he's probably still a little drunk." Sebastian was distracted while typing the long texts.

"So have you heard all about Blaine?" Santana asked Rob.

"I wouldn't say I've heard ALL about Blaine, but I'm putting together the pieces." Rob replied with a sympathetic glance towards his roommate.

"Leave Short-Stack alone, Bastian. The hobbit needs time to heal." Santana said, bumping him so he would move over in the booth to make room for her. "And we need to start warming up for this wild night ahead of us. We need to order some wine to go with dinner."

Sebastian's phone pinged with another text.

_BLAINE: Sorry Seb, I gotta go, I may have just thrown up but there is a hot doctor here who says he wants to make me feel better! Happy Halloween!_

Santana couldn't read the look that flashed across Sebastian's face. "Hello, I told you to put that away! We need to order some wine."

He shoved his phone in his pocket and arched an eyebrow. "You meant shots, right?"

"Uh-oh," said Rob.

* * *

Blaine crawled downstairs to his dorm room after abandoning his phone. He followed what he could remember of Sebastian's instructions and crawled into his blue pajamas and lay down on his bed. He lay down on the crappy mattress of his dorm bed in the very tiny dorm room that had walls made of massive bricks that made him feel like he lived in a prison cell. They were painted gray, too. He finally crawled under the covers, thinking about the superficial fun he had dancing with near-strangers while watching Sam and being envious of his new relationship with Mary. He had been surrounded by new friends all night but he'd never felt so lonely before. He wasn't even in his own country and he couldn't even go home to his old bed in his parents' house. He missed Sebastian, he missed Tina, he missed his mom, he missed Kurt, he even missed Cooper and his dad. But he couldn't even text or call any of them because stupid drunk Sam had his phone.

It was his good fortune that he fell asleep before he could feel any lonelier.

* * *

Sebastian Smythe earned a reputation quickly in his circles at Stanford for being an impressive drunk. Though he took a shot of Courvoisier in his coffee and drank top-shelf scotch by choice, he was open-minded to a fault in his willingness to drink tequila, gin, vodka, wine, beer and almost any other libation available. But the diversity of liquor he imbibed was not what impressed his friends. What was truly impressive was his ability to drink most of his classmates under the table without truly losing control. Alcohol seemed to make him more playful, a little bit louder, a lot more relaxed, and some argued a little bit sweeter. Though he never discussed it, since his days in Paris it had also become very useful to numb any anger, fear, discomfort or pain. But some of the effects that alcohol had on others were not known to apply to Sebastian – he did not lose muscle control, he did not slur his speech, he did not become overly emotional, angry or verbal. No matter how much he drank, he also did not act inappropriately or become uncontrollably promiscuous - any promiscuity was very calculated .

Again, in short he did not lose control. On many nights he was known to drink unbelievable amounts of scotch all night and still remain in complete control over his physical, mental, and emotional capabilities.

Tonight was not one of those nights.

Rob and Santana learned on Halloween that Out-of-Control!Drunk!Sebastian = Belligerent!Sebastian. By the 2nd Castro club Halloween party and his umpteenth tequila shot, he was heatedly grinding with half the younger men on the dance floor. By the 4th club he had moved on to vodka, started a club brawl and was thrown out of the club. At around 2AM Sebastian was drinking scotch, verbally abusing the bartender and leaning heavily on Rob when they were thrown out of their 5th club.

Santana was drinking as well but not nearly as much.

"Ugh," Rob grunted under Sebastian's weight. "I was just telling my mom that my roommate is the most chill over-achiever I ever met. Who the hell is this guy?"

Santana shrugged. "I've never seen him this way. Apparently, with enough liquor he becomes like me - he goes to the yelling place. He has rage," She laughed, snapping one of Sebastian's suspenders. "Nice grinding in the dance floor, Slick! Man, those Warbler moves were just the tip of the hip swinging iceberg! You could compete with Sam on the stripper circuit! I wish Quinn was here, she'd jump your bones and take advantage of your stone-cold drunken state of being."

"Aw, that'd be no good…she's beautiful…but I'm gay!" Sebastian slurred grumpily. "I like boys! And boys like me!"

He ran his hand through his hair. "Except one boy! There is one boy who doesn't like me, and I can't shake him, no matter how many other boys I grind with. Fucking hell!" Then he collapsed to the curb, taking Rob down with him.

Santana sat down with him. "Hey now, don't crap out on me now."

Rob gave her a sideways glance. "I'm really okay if he craps out on us now."

Sebastian was cantankerous. "No no no, Tana – don't bully me! Listen to Rob! He knows what he's fucking talking about!" He pounded a fist on his own knee. "I am not dancing any more! Those fucking clubs keep kicking us out! And I'm done dancing with those ugly boys in there! I want to talk about my FEELINGS for the BEAUTIFUL boy who isn't here, the one who is all the way over in the fucking UK! Nick always tries to get me to talk about my FEELINGS and this is the time! 'Cause why not, if not now, then when?!"

"Dios mio," Santana rolled her eyes. "Rob what did you guys do to my boy at Stanford?"

Rob chuckled. "Maybe he contracted a belligerent virus at Full Moon over the Quad last week."

"Full Moon over the what?" Santana asked.

"I'll explain later," Rob said, trying to shift the deadweight of Sebastian's arm to a more comfortable position around his neck. "Maybe we should focus on getting this big guy home."

But Sebastian wasn't budging. He began hollering again. "Blaine, the sexiest man alive, has a hot doctor making him feel better tonight! Who the fuck knows what they will do with the stethoscope? And what do I have?! You two twelve year old babysitters who won't let me go into a single fucking back room!"

Rob was unperturbed. "As your roommate, it's my job to make sure you don't earn yourself an STD, which is what would definitely happen in there, brother. You can't open a condom wrapper right now, let alone use one right."

Santana said, "And oh my god you're being such a baby. You and Blaine aren't even dating. If he wants to get some tail, that's his prerogative."

"Of course it's his preroga..rotative!" Sebastian tripped over the word, still royally pissed off. "We're just friends! We're just friends! We're just friends! I think we are going to be friends for fucking ever!" He pounded his knee again. "OH MY FUCK I'm going to end up being a groomsman at his next wedding to HUMMEL! FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!"

Santana softened. He was just so pathetic. "Slick, stop being such a drama queen. All reports from the New Directions gossip chat say you two were pretty handsy in San Francisco on your little vacation with Sammy boy, right? You'll see him at Christmas ."

Sebastian turned and yelled into her face intensely. "Oh please, Blaine would cuddle with a boa constrictor if one came by! He was just being his annoyingly grateful self and being all thankful and platonic and shit! And I bet he was just using me as his cuddle whore because Hummel is not currently on his plate!"

Santana smacked his cheek lightly. "Stop being a jackass– you gotta have patience, you big whiner. Blaine should spend some time alone and then he can make a decent boyfriend choice."

Sebastian bumped her shoulder in frustration. "I'm not even on the menu to choose from, Snix – that's my goddamned point! I'm sick of being treated like a goddamned eunuch!"

"Now you're just fishing for compliments, you weasel. As if anyone could think you were a eunuch after seeing that hot bod. I mean since you've started doing your triathlon crap, I even think you might actually have an ass now…."

Sebastian cooled off a little at the compliments. He pouted, "It wouldn't kill_ him_ to compliment me on anything else besides 'what a good friend' I am!"

Santana saw the opportunity and nodded to Rob. "Come on Twink, let's go find a Dunkin Donuts and get you some coffee, and then get you home. You can curse and bitch about all this all the way home and then some more in the morning."

"Nag," groused Sebastian, struggling to his feet with Rob's help.

"Idiot," Santana retorted.

* * *

It was about noon when Blaine awoke to the buzzing of his phone, which Sam had laid next to his head on the pillow. It was Sebastian on a Skype voice call.

"Seb…" he grunted.

" You alone , my little pita pocket?" Sebastian slurred, was lying in his bed finally, but still a fairly drunk.

"Yeah. I am hungover and just waking up. Why wouldn't I be?"

"The doctor…"

Blaine had no idea what I he was talking about, but his head was pounding too hard to care, especially since it was clear Sebastian was drunker than Blaine had ever seen him. "Huh? You're so drunk, Seb. You should go to sleep. And just so you know, my head is going to explode, so I can't talk long, either."

"I'm not so drunk any more. Drunk was a couple of hours ago when I got thrown out of two clubs. I just called to say goodnight, Killer. Halloween sucked hard. And not in the good way."

"Same here. It blew chunks. Literally."

"Ugh, don't say that. I might throw up, too."

"Go to sleep, Seb."

"Ok," Sebastian huffed. "But if I go to sleep, I might not wake up. Tana thinks I am at risk for alcohol poisoning."

"And you say _I'm _a drama queen."

"I'm not being dramatic. This could happen. You didn't see how much I drank tonight. But if I die just know that I love you and that you can have all my hoodies ."

"Aw, Seb."

"Can you read me my last rites?"

"I can't open my eyes so I can't read anything."

"Ok, then at least sing me a lullaby."

"My mouth feels like cotton so I'm not sure about that, either."

"What kind of friend are you?"

"An incredibly hungover one. Good night, Seb."

"Good night, B."

* * *

Hi there! Thanks for your patience as we got our final edits on this chapter. Hopefully you enjoyed Halloween more than our boys did. At least Sam had a good time :)

Also hope you are enjoying my first original character (besides Uncle Willy, but Uncle Willy was lifted straight out of High Society), Rob. I was happy that Seb was fortunate enough to get a good roommate, we all know that is not always the case in college! We all know Seb could use a non-snarky friend in his life.

Please review, interested in your thoughts on Rob, where this is all going, the Halloween costumes we picked, etc. etc. Be gentle, but also feel free to suggest improvements! We're having so much fun writing this and are glad you are taking the time to read!


	5. Thanksgiving, Vibrato, and Homecoming

_ To: Blaine Anderson  
__From: Sebastian Smythe  
__Date: December 4, 2013  
__Subject: Emerging from four day hibernation_

_Hey Killer,_

_It's the middle of the night for you but I know you have your last midterm tomorrow, so I'm refraining from Skype-calling you, as much as I'd love to see your delicious bedhead. _

_Sorry for all the phone tag all weekend, and having to cancel our Skype call because of the internet problems at Rob's parents' house. I couldn't believe my phone didn't have good coverage there, either – I thought I was supposed to have a good network everywhere. It's always gratifying to know that I pay a wad every month for crappy service. It's not like we were truly in the middle of nowhere. Anyway, between all that and you being in the boonies for the weekend in the venerable Scottish Highlands, chatting with you 'twas not to be, 'o curly haired one (damn, my Lit class is taking over my brain, what the fuck am I writing). _

_One upside to unplugging from the grid was how amusing it was to make my parents scramble a bit to track me down on Thanksgiving day. But in the end we had the same conversations I have with them every holiday: _

_* Dad – grumpily awkward with a side order of "reminding" (issuing random decrees). _

_* Mom– wistful guilt with a good dollop of pretending that we are closer than we are. _

_The other upside of unplugging was that it gave this sad sack a little time and space to recharge. Even though I brought the usual nightmare load of homework, the urgency to do it was overcome by the incredibly sleep-inducing combination of Rob's house + no emails, texts or calls. _

_Rob's family seems like an anomaly amongst families. They seem to like being together, but they don't have to talk constantly or try too hard. His mom made some stuff she likes to make, but ordered more than half of the turkey dinner, including the turkey, from the local gourmet market. No one was working too hard on Thanksgiving, unlike so many other Thanksgivings I've been invited to. They had an early dinner at like 2PM, and then everyone just went to do their own thing. There was no forced family interaction, though they spent time together anyway. Rob's older sister and her mom read books in the sunroom. His brother in law and his niece played board games; Rob and I watched football with his dad. _

_ You'll like this bit, because I know you love it when I'm sleepy. After only about ½ hour of football, I was nodding off on the couch. I never sleep well the first night in a new place, so I guess my exhaustion didn't hit me until the next day. I did want watch the game though, so I was stupidly torturing myself trying to stay awake. Then all of sudden I see Rob's mom in front of me. She didn't say a word, she just took me by the hand and led my stumbling ass up to the guest room. I was just so bone-tired all of sudden - I could barely see straight. _

_Sometimes when a family invites me to spend Thanksgiving with them, I get treated like a pathetic orphan they picked up off the street, or worse, some bedraggled stray dog. The only upside to those weekends were usually the food. But this time there was no pity, no awkwardness, no fussiness - Rob's mom just literally tucked my wretched hide into the featherbed in their guest room and turned out the light. I don't think anyone has tucked a comforter under my chin since my au pair when I was eight. But damn that bed felt so good, I didn't think I ever wanted to get up again. I ended up taking like a 3 hour nap, I kid you not. I don't think I've ever taken a nap that long. _

_When I woke up, I had like 4 kinds of pie with everyone. So I don't expect these chiseled abs I've been bragging to you about to still exist by the time I see you. Rob's mom was saying she remembered her freshman year as an engineering major at UCLA, and that my big nap was understandable. Then Rob tried to get me to watch a movie but I fell asleep in like 15 minutes. After Rob shoehorned me into bed (in a far less maternal manner), I slept for like 12 more hours. Rob's mom said my body just needed it. _

_For the rest of the weekend it was much the same. I slept and slept and slept and slept, and then I slept some more. Same deal, afternoon nap and early bedtime - I was basically an eighty year old man all weekend. Thankfully, I also managed to get a fair amount of homework done, too. _

_I took this pic _[author's note: see photo at imgurDOTcom/YZDlGWA]_ in their sunroom where I did some of my reading for history and lit on Saturday - you would have liked it. _

_I got in a run through the countryside by a lake Friday morning, and later Rob and his niece (the least obnoxious eight year old I've ever met), walked me around Ojai. It is actually a pretty posh small town – I guess Joanne Woodward has a place there. We studied at the public library, which was a good change of pace. Saturday watched more football and went for a bike ride. That night Rob played chess with his Dad while I read something for pleasure for the first time since our trip to San Francisco (and no, it wasn't Harry Potter, sorry). I swear college has sucked almost all the pleasure out of reading. Then Rob's niece beat me at checkers, and didn't even gloat about it. Rob thinks it's because Violet is scared of me. I don't see why, I didn't give her any reason to be scared of me. Anyway, I obviously lost to a 2__nd__ grader because I was tired. And you obviously will not be sharing this droll story with anyone else – got it, little B? _

_So that was my Thanksgiving. While it still feels like I only scratched the surface of the quantity of sleep I need to really recover, it was still a decent respite before the final stretch of this odious quarter. _

_Two weeks left, we're closing in on the end. Here are the midterm exam reports from Sebastian Smythe, Academic Disgrace: _

_Engineering, B (there were so many freaking questions on that exam)  
__Calculus, A  
__History, B+(also ran out of time)  
__Lit, B (damn Beowulf)_

_Pulling off a Smythe report card is going to take a miracle. I have to get my act together if Harvard or Wharton business school are going to even be in the cards. At least the extracurriculars are slowing down with everyone buckling down for finals._

_You might remember Wednesday was the triathlon we've been training for all quarter. I swear I didn't think I was going to finish. I thought my muscles were going to give out on me, that is the honest-to-god truth. Obviously the swimming was toughest part, given my Midwestern roots; then the biking had more hills than I felt reasonable after swimming for a half mile; and then of course the running felt very unlike my normal runs, because of the goddamn biking and swimming. . I did finish, but clearly I didn't train enough because Thomas and like 8 other guys kicked my ass. By a lot. And of course the crowning glory was that a couple of girls beat me. Okay, they also beat the 20 guys behind me, but still. Yes, Sebastian Smythe, former star athlete, was also humiliated in Stanford's athletic realm. _

_Mixed Company won our area competition. I got to ooh and aah in the background - exhilarating, let me tell you. Ok, it wasn't that bad, but obviously I missed singing lead. They promised me a solo in the spring but I'll believe it when I see it. In the meantime, I appointed myself to the role of choreographer because these people do not know how to move. At least having girls in the group means they have more flexibility on the whole than the Warblers. But we have a few holiday performances coming up and I don't know how I'm going to choreograph all the Christmas numbers and study for finals at the same time._

_Lacrosse conditioning was the best thing I did all quarter, even though I didn't get as much field time as I would have liked, because they don't let us scrimmage too much in pre-season. Fencing has been fun as always, but our tournament is coming up this week and it feels like I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. Like somehow, even though we're supposed to be seeded appropriately, my opponent will have trained much harder than me and I will be cut to ribbons._

_Sometimes I think college has cut me to ribbons, B. It's not really what I thought it would be like. I definitely stretched myself too thin. I'm failing to some degree at everything and succeeding at nothing. My father said to me on Thanksgiving that I need to "lose the arrogance" – which is rich coming from him – and I hate that he is right. I was a conceited idiot to take on so much this quarter. _

_At least your quarter has sounded more balanced than mine, even though I know you haven't felt incredibly personally connected. At least it sounds like you're making progress in that area. I'm glad you found some kindred spirits in that Film Club…have you found anyone who agrees with me about _Gone with the Wind_? Did you get the bonding time you hoped for this weekend with Sam and those crazy international kids? _

_Speaking of Sam, be sure to tell him that the holiday treat I am looking forward to the most is the sweet, sweet day I get to punish him for that Halloween text. Tell him I am still determining the nature of his punishment, but that he should be very, very afraid._

_Also tell your mother thank you for inviting me to stay with you over Christmas vacation. I couldn't believe my dad was going to ask Teresa and the rest of the staff to work over the holidays just for me while he is out of town. It's like he thinks I'm incapable of ordering from a take-out menu. _

_It will be interesting to see an American Christmas again after spending the last seven or eight in Paris. And of course it should be interesting to experience the Anderson household during the holiday season. Cooper high on peppermint bark and candy cane mocha is going to be a frightening spectacle. _

_Don't forget to send me your flight info. I arranged for a car to pick all of us up. Nick managed to also get a flight from LA that lands around the same time, so it will be a roadtrip reunion, for better or for worse. _

_I've got to run, but I'm here if you need me. And we'll talk Saturday as usual, right? Without training or practice, I can Skype earlier – I'm sure my body will regrettably wake me by 8AM (Rob clanging around), so whatever works for you after that should be fine. I'll just be up to my ears in cramming for finals._

_Seb_

P.S. _I am including this against my better judgment, but here it is, because I know the crappy Scottish weather has been getting you a little down. I sacrifice my dignity to lighten up your day with the laughter at my expense that will surely be forthcoming. _

_Yes, on Saturday night Rob's mangy little dog (that had been following me around all weekend) joined me in my bed without my knowledge. Rob of course had to take this photo._ [author's note: THIS IS A MUST SEE, see imgurDOTcom/zVg2IAE]

_Can you believe the gall of that mutt? It thinks it's a person and decided _I_ was a good featherbed apparently. I nearly went into cardiac arrest when I woke up with all that fur and dog drool on my arm. The furball just stared at me, looking all drowsy like it was thinking, "What? Go back to sleep." Dogs are odd creatures._

_Rob's been living with me long enough to know not to post this anywhere, but he did tell me I should send it to you to keep up your spirits in that crappy Scottish weather . I include it only because I trust you have a very clear understanding that I will murder you in cold blood if you leak this to any form of social media, email it to anyone, or show Sam or anyone else. I count on your understanding of these terms, Anderson. I will be home for Christmas and will check in with Sam personally – and you know how fast I could break him. If I hear about anything from him, you should know that there is no place that you and your bowties can hide where I won't find you._

* * *

_From: Blaine Anderson  
__To: Sebastian Smythe  
__Date: December 5, 2013  
__Subject: Re: Emerging from four day hibernation_

_Seb,_

_First of all, the photo of you and that little dog is the cutest thing I've seen in my entire life. I am smiling from ear to ear! It's killing me that I can't show Sam. PLEASE?! Just Sam? What is that little cutie's name? I can just imagine it following you around all weekend. I hope you didn't kick it or anything, it's obvious it has a crush on you ( or at least the way you smell, which we all know is spectacular - ha ha). Tell Rob I love him for taking that picture and getting you to send it to me. It completely and absolutely lifted my spirits, which needed boosting. My last midterm was much harder than I expected._

_Second of all, thank you so much for the amazing care package. We shared a few of the See's Candies with Mary, Liam, Scott and the rest, but Sam and I hoarded most of it for ourselves because the others can't appreciate American chocolates the way we do. As for Rob's mom's cookies, I didn't even show them to Sam. They were heavenly! I officially want you to put Rob on a plane and tell him he and Sam are trading places. I put the beautiful print of Tiburon up on my bedroom wall over my desk so I can look at it while I am writing a real letter to you soon with the beautiful fountain pen, stationary and sealing wax kit you sent. They all look like they cost a small fortune – you didn't need to do that. But thank you for being so thoughtful – you have no idea how wonderful it was to get a piece of home and you here. I've been so homesick. _

_Finally, thank you for taking the time to write such a long and interesting email so close to finals. I printed it out and hunkered down with it on the couch this morning with a cup of hot chocolate . In the pouring Scottish rain, news of your California life is like a burst of sunshine. _

_I'm sorry you had those weird Thanksgiving conversations with your parents – from other things you've said I know that they love you, they are just not good at showing it. But like we said at the lake this summer, we make our own families outside of the ones we're born with. And one thing I am incredibly thankful for this Thanksgiving is that it sounds like you have found more of your self-made family. Rob's folks sound wonderful. When you told me his mom tucked you in, I'll admit I got a little weepy . I also can't believe you played with a real, live child. I'm still in shock from that._

_Honestly, I'm terribly envious of your whole Thanksgiving visit with them. I had the opposite of a family Thanksgiving. It turned out to be 16 of us international students in two rental houses up in the town of Drumnadrochit on the shores of Loch Ness. It was freezing out but beautiful. We were such enthusiastic tourists that we didn't let the biting wind and drizzle stop us from walking and hiking around. It helped that Sam kept doing impressions of Sean Connery to make us laugh. The photo I've attached is one I took of him, right before he ran back inside to put his coat on__. _

[author's note: see pics at imgurDOTcom/QGZ5zXZ and imgurDOTcom/w1cIMng]  
_____  
I feel my affection growing for this international crowd we've been running with (mostly French, Germans, Italians), but I still haven't "clicked" with anyone. It feels similar to when I started at McKinley. Mike and I didn't get closer until the second semester, so maybe that will happen here, too._

_Anyway, Sam and I made a real Thanksgiving dinner for the Europeans, meaning I made everything and Sam made ice water and did impressions of Steve Martin in Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Everyone drank like crazy and it was fun. I made everyone watch Beauty and the Beast and then I even led a little sing-a-long while Sam played his guitar._

_Sam and I haven't really personally connected much lately though, he and Mary are stuck together like one of your peanut butter and honey sandwiches. So I'm still a little lonely and blue. I've been thinking that it's not just about being homesick, but maybe it's tied up with the cancelled wedding and withdrawing from NYADA and everything else. So I went to see the student psychological services department here to see if some therapy could help. I remembered you said it helped you when your grandmother passed away, and I remembered that the therapist Mr. Schuester brought in after Finn's death had some helpful things to say. I've only been to one session and just had time to share my background, but I think it should be helpful. I liked the therapist._

_I'm sorry you feel so badly about your midterms – I don't think they are bad at all for a first quarter at a school like Stanford. You are terribly smart Seb, I hate to see you down on yourself about it. Learning and being smart are more than just tests and grades._

_Same goes for your triathlon. That was your first ever, and you finished in front of 20 other guys and only behind 9? That includes all the upperclassmen, right? That sounds pretty awesome to me. They've told you that you're going to be a starting player on the lacrosse team as a freshman, too. I don't think that counts as humiliation in Stanford's athletic realm. Add to that the fact that you are going to triumph at your fencing tournament…because I know you're going to be pretending your opponent is Hunter Clarington! :D_

_You have so much to be proud of this quarter Seb. An award winning acapella group like Mixed Company has entrusted you, again even though you are "just" a freshman, with their choreography. I've always thought you have a great voice, but ultimately your charisma and dance moves are really your signature performance strengths. You completely transformed the Warblers, and given your recent win, it sounds like you're doing the same for MC. And of course they will give you that promised solo this spring, they would be stupid to say that and not deliver to someone as valuable as you. As for the holiday numbers, just recycle some stuff, it doesn't have to be perfect, just fun for a holiday crowd._

_I wish you wouldn't beat yourself up about what you think you haven't done or should not have done. You were NOT a conceited idiot to take on what you did this quarter. You were ambitious and confident – willing to take on a lot to see how it would go, and from the beginning you never assumed you would necessarily succeed perfectly in all of those areas – I remember that distinctly from one of our calls back in September. That is not arrogance. _

_And even better, you adjusted as was necessary – you dropped golf and drama and it sounds like you don't party as hard as you did in high school. But you're still balanced, you aren't a recluse or something - you go out and it sounds like you're popular and are having fun. You've developed a good friendship with Rob and you are getting to know the guys on your teams and the Mixed Company crowd. All in all, I think you went in and kicked butt in college. If you feel stretched thin, then you'll adjust some more next quarter, but I hope you won't think you've failed this quarter, because you definitely have not, not by any stretch of the imagination._

_All that being said, anyone with their head screwed on straight is not going to ultimately measure you by what you accomplish at Stanford or anywhere else. We love you because of who you are, not what you do. _

_You sound more tired than anything else. I'm SO glad you got some rest over the weekend, I hope you will try to get what you can to get you through finals, too._

_And once you get through them, we get to go back good ole' Ohio! I can't wait. Sam booked our tickets, so I'll have him send our flight info to you. I'm excited that we'll finish our fall quarter adventure the way it began, with the four of us! _

_Good luck with everything today and this week – talk soon. Saturday looks good for skype, regular time._

_Love,_

_Blaine_

P.S. _I gave Sam a snapshot I took of you from senior year and look what he drew from it in his class! You should forward this to your mom – I bet she'll want to frame it. I love it and made Sam give it to me, but if your mom wanted the original I would give it to her._

[author's note: see imgurDOTcom/1nDuC03 and archiveofourown version of this story for the source link]

_From: Blaine Anderson  
__To: Sebastian Smythe  
__Date: December 5, 2013  
__Subject:Blaine on Broadway_

_Right after I hit "send" on my last email I got a call with some news. Remember how I got strep throat a couple of weeks ago? Well the antibiotics weren't working that well, so I went today to an ear, nose and throat doctor. I got to talking with the doctor about my trouble singing vibrato. So he did this weird thing where they sent a tiny camera down to look at the folds of my vocal chords. He just called to tell me that he was finally able to examine the images. It turns out I have some weird defect and my folds don't close all the way, so I'll never be able do a full vibrato. Crazy, huh? So now I guess I need to figure out how the reduced number of roles I can play fits into my plans. Maybe I start focusing on auditioning for supporting roles? _

_Well, I have to grab breakfast and finish my homework – we can talk more about this later._

* * *

It was heading towards noon when Blaine picked up a Skype call as he was walking in the Royal Conservatory Student Union. "Seb? What are you doing calling so early?"

Sebastian actually did sound a little sleepy. "Come on Killer, what do you think I'm calling about?"

"Uh…"

"Your vocal chords."

Blaine sat down in the cafeteria. "Oh, that." He sighed. "It was good of you to call Seb, but I actually have to leave for class in like five minutes. Can I call you later?" He glanced at his watch. "You probably have to go too, isn't it like 7AM where you are? Aren't you usually off to something by now?"

"Lacrosse conditioning, but that's over until the new year. I guess my body is still used to being awake. But let's get back to you, especially if we only have 5 minutes. You ok?"

"Yeah, more or less." Blaine said without conviction.

"B, it's me. Talk to me."

"Ok, I'm kinda devastated."

"The cheesy vibrato thing is overrated."

"Your vibrato is beautiful," Blaine argued.

"My vibrato is even cheesier than most."

"Broadway requires vibrato, Seb."

"Not all of it. There are a lot of great parts that don't necessarily require it. You were extraordinary in West Side Story without it. And there are tons of pop based shows these days… Jersey Boys, I think Hairspray. I saw a guy do How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying without vibrato, or at least he was sort of faking a vibrato. It worked. You'll make it work, there will be plenty of parts for you…it's a stylistic thing for a lot of…"

"Seb, can you just…" Blaine trailed off in frustration.

Sebastian rubbed his forehead. "Sorry, I'm being an idiot. I'll stop trying to solve your problems." He swallowed, sitting up in bed. "I'm sorry, B. It must suck to hear that you might be locked out of a bunch of roles."

"Yeah, it kind of does." Blaine sighed and looked at his watch. "Ok, it might get loud in the hall because now I do have to go to class." He stood up and packed up his satchel.

"Okay," Sebastian said reluctantly, not wanting to hang up. "But make Sam treat you like a prince tonight. Tell him I said his girl is going to have to fly solo, that he'd better hand over all the See's candy, give you control of the remote, and share all the comics I've been sending him. And tell him if he doesn't do all of this, I'll bust his ass when I see him, and that he'd better believe I can do it, because I know I've been working out more than he has if he's got himself at girl and is hitting the pub every night."

"Okay, okay, I get the idea," Blaine smiled in spite of himself as he walked down the hallway.

"And Killer?"

"Yes?" Blaine looked distracted as he pushed open the doors to his classroom.

"Hey, look at me."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"I can tell you're distracted. I know you want to go to class, but for just a few seconds, pretend we're on a skype call or better yet, that I'm standing in front of you. "

Blaine sighed and stared at the professor's lectern. "Okay, okay, I'm imagining you here. But seriously, make this quick."

"You're not helping. Ok let's do it this way. Close your eyes."

Blaine stopped walking to lean on a wall. "Fine. They're closed."

"Great. Now let's try this again." Sebastian paused. "Killer?"

"Yes?"

"You sing like a dream."

"Aww, Seb." Blaine's eyes opened and he smiled.

"Keep your eyes closed, and listen to me. You sing like a dream, but more importantly, you're a star – which has nothing to do with your physical capabilities. Don't ever forget that. You could be mute, old, wrinkled and otherwise talentless and we'd all still worship you. But as you are none of those things, don't give up now - the world is still waiting breathlessly for the crazy charisma and talent of one Blaine Anderson, Broadway/West End/Hollywood star. Vibrato or no fucking vibrato."

Blaine rubbed the back of his neck as he felt a wave of love. "I miss you, Seb."

Seb took a quick breath and replied bluntly. "I miss you too, Killer. Now get to class."

"Okay. Bye."

"Bye."

* * *

"Nick!"

"Sam!"

Sam barreled off the airport escalator bringing him from the gates to the baggage claim. He nearly knocked over Nick with his enthusiastic hug. "Man, it's good to see someone from home!"

Nick laughed, straightening his hair and clothes. "It's great to see you too, man. It's a good thing the crazy amounts of snow didn't delay our flights. But where's Blaine?"

"Oh, there was a family that wanted to sit together so of course Blaine offered to move for them and he ended up way in the back of the plane in a middle seat. I texted him to say I would get the bags for us since there were some slow families with babies and little kids in front of him."

Nick looked around them. "And I guess Sebastian isn't here yet, either."

"It should be quite a reunion for those two," Sam said thoughtfully. "They were emailing and skyping and calling like everyday this quarter. "

"Really?" Nick looked surprised.

"Yeah," Sam looked somber. "You know earlier in the quarter I was giving Blaine grief about how much he was talking to Sebastian. But I have to admit that now I'm really glad Seb's been able to talk to him a lot lately, since he got the news about his vocal chords."

"Blaine's vocal chords?"

"The doc found some kind of defect he was born with, I guess it's the part where the vocal chords open and close. He says Blaine'll never be able to sing a full-on vibrato."

"Oh man, that's gotta be a bummer for Blaine. He sounds so great anyway, though."

"Yeah of course he does, but you know Blaine. He wants to be perfect." Sam's lower lip protruded a bit. "I've been trying to cheer him up every way I know how, but it really has been the emails and Skype calls with Sebastian that have helped the most lately."

Nick nodded in comprehension, taking the news in. After a moment or two, he added, "You know it's cute, Sebastian has played it so cool all quarter whenever I asked him about Blaine. He did not make it seem like they were in that close contact." He looked amused. "I bet when we see him he is going to try to be all nonchalant with him."

Sam had to smile, too. "That's funny, because Blaine is convinced that Sebastian isn't crushing on him, and he keeps denying that he's crushing on Seb, but it is still so obvious they are into each other – just like at the Third Eye Blind concert."

"Yeah, it should be funny to watch them tiptoe around each other in front of us when they get here," Nick glanced up at the escalator bringing passengers down.

Sam had a sudden gleam in his eye. "Ooh, let's spy on them! Come on!" He gestured for Nick to follow him. They hid themselves behind a giant cement pillar and waited a few more minutes, chatting and keeping an eye on the escalator.

In the middle of one of Sam's stories about his new kilt, Nick said abruptly, "There's Sebastian!" They hid themselves more carefully and peeked out furtively.

Nick started using a documentary announcer style: "Welcome to Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom! Let's watch as the homosexual of the species commence their mating ritual. First we have the Smythi Sebastieous, dressed in a British tan $2000 Burberry overcoat…"

"Really?" asked Sam. "My car isn't worth that much."

Nick nodded, continuing. "Notice how he stands directly adjacent to several hired car drivers with name signs, yet does not detect the obviously homosexual chauffeur who is inspecting Sebastieous' gluteus maximus. We can only conclude that the Sebastieous pays no heed because of his laser focus on the arrival of his curly haired potential mate."

Sam snorted with laughter and joined in. "Wait, what do we have here? Is the Sebastieous reaching into his messenger bag for the comic books he promised to bring the Evanseum Samueli? No! He is taking out a large brochure of some kind…"

"And, is that a sharpie marker?" Nick fell out of character in puzzlement.

Sam was on a roll with his impression. "What is he writing on the blank back of the brochure in large letters? Let's see what the Sebastieous has in store…"

They craned their necks. "Of course," Nick said chuckling and shaking his head. "It says 'Scottish Sex on a Stick.'"

Sebastian kept the sign out of public sight until they all saw Blaine descending on the escalator, looking worn out and small in the Dalton Lacrosse hoodie, with dark circles under his eyes and disordered hair that had been disheveled during his nap on the plane.

The moment he spotted him, Sebastian held up the sign, glowing with excitement, a genuine smile spreading over his face.

Blaine was looking through the crowd for any of his three friends, and he was about halfway down the tall, crowded escalator when he caught sight of Sebastian amongst the chauffeurs.

"Look at him, he's lighting up like a Christmas tree!" Sam said, smiling broadly. "I think he read the sign. He's blushing and it's stopping at his cheekbones! Cooper was so right!"

Nick was grinning. "Man, look at 'Bastian. I swear I have never, ever seen a smile that big on his face. Not even when we won regionals senior year."

"Before we busted you," Sam laughed.

"Before you busted us," Nick rolled his eyes. "But hey, remember Seb told Hunter he wouldn't perform if he had to take anything and Hunter blackmailed almost all of the rest of us!"

"Yeah, right!" Sam teased.

Nick hit Sam's shoulder, then pointed their attention back to Sebastian and Blaine. "Aw, look at them!"

Sam pulled out his camera phone. "Now let me collect a little evidence to show Blaine the next time he says that he's not crushing on Seb…"

Blaine reached the bottom of the escalator and headed straight into Sebastian's arms. "SEB!" They hugged tightly.

"Hey you," Sebastian murmured fondly into his ear. After a full minute, Sebastian pulled back, arms still around Blaine's waist, to have a look at him. "Welcome back, Killer."

"I look like a mess," Blaine said, patting down his hair.

Sebastian shook his head. "Flawless."

Their eyes locked and Sebastian tensed up with self restraint as he remembered all at once how torturous being with Blaine was when he wanted to kiss him. Blaine suddenly realized that he was staring at Sebastian's face, which had suddenly become unreadable. Blushing, he leaned his head down against Sebastian's chest. They both relaxed and Blaine let out a genuine sigh of contentment. "I'm so glad to be right here. You have no idea how happy I am right now."

"I have some idea." Sebastian smiled. He pulled Blaine even closer, completely enveloping him in his strong arms and broad chest, his mind wandering into a daydream in the middle of the crowded airport. After a few moments he remembered where he was and looked more keenly through the crowd. When he didn't see Nick or Sam, he rested his chin on the top Blaine's head and allowed himself to close his eyes and breathe in the scent that was distinctively Blaine.

Blaine was radiating with happiness….when suddenly he felt Sebastian move him aside forcefully.

Sebastian lunged towards a cement pillar. "EVANS! DUVALL! You two are SO dead!"

"RUN! RUN! RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!" Sam yelled, crashing into an old lady as they made a run for it. Nick followed, laughing breathlessly. They headed for the baggage carousels, Sam's backpack thumping against him and Nick's scarf flailing behind them. Their hearts raced as they heard the pounding of Sebastian's long legs, gaining on them.

Blaine started laughing so hard that tears came to his eyes. He still had no idea where Nick and Sam had come from or why Sebastian was chasing them, but he didn't care. Sebastian looked like a very well dressed detective chasing after his suspects, and Sam and Nick were dodging passengers, leaping over luggage carts, and pushing past rolling suitcases right and left.

It was so good to be home.

* * *

Blaine sat on a chair drawn up to the most coveted table at the Lima Bean, the one situated opposite the most comfortable sofa. He was tapping out replies to a few emails on his Ipad.

Sebastian approached the table with a contented look on his face. "For his success in securing a prized table, a medium drip for the handsome Royal Conservatory student in the Brooks Brothers cardigan." He gave Blaine a charming smile, placing their coffees on the table and sliding himself onto the couch.

"Thank you kind sir," Blaine looked up and smiled back at him. "Oh man, I've missed these. The coffee on campus at the RC is awful. I am going to bring a ton of coffee beans, a grinder and a coffeemaker back to school with me. I think bad coffee could explain 80% of my struggles last quarter."

"Quite possibly." Sebastian said, propping his feet up on a side chair. "I feel your pain. Stanford's coffee barely passes muster, and that is only because my taste buds had been dulled by the Lima Bean after I left Paris."

"You're such a snob."

Sebastian laughed. "You just said you are going to grind your own coffee beans come the New Year."

"That's not being snobby, that's being desperate."

Sebastian chuckled. "Okay, okay." He took a sip of his coffee and changed the subject. "So I thought your dad was looking at me last night at dinner like he thought I might deflower his son." He looked amused. "And that he would bury me alive if I did."

Blaine shook his head. "No, that's his natural countenance. Seriously. But he can be scary. Kurt used to only come over for dinner if he knew my dad was travelling on business."

Sebastian's stomach twisted at the mention of Kurt, but he shook it off. "Not scary, just a challenge. I'm sure I'll win him over, parents love me."

In spite of his confident words, Blaine saw a look of trepidation flash in Sebastian's eyes. He stood up, nudging Sebastian over so he could join him on the couch. He teased, "Of course all parents love you - because of your humility."

"Exactly," Sebastian said with a cheeky grin.

Blaine snuggled up against Sebastian, who put his arm around him. He looked up at Sebastian, his hazel eyes like stars. "I'm so happy…two whole weeks at home! There's so much I want to do. And everyone's home! Oh, don't forget, you're dropping me with Tina for lunch today, and then tonight, do you want to go with me to the Tavern? Artie said a bunch of the crowd is going to check out a band that is playing. Some Dayton blues band."

He added nervously, "I know you don't know the New Directions crowd that well, but I think you would like them if you spent some time with them. And Sam will be there…and I confirmed Kurt isn't coming." Sebastian looked slightly perturbed at the mention of Kurt, but gave him a slight nod. Blaine continued hopefully, "And Santana will be there, so you won't be too bored."

"Okay, okay," Sebastian said patiently.

Blaine, encouraged again, continued breathlessly. "But that's not until tonight. Between lunch and the Tavern, what do you want to do?" He waited for a moment, then continued eagerly. "We can go to the lake," he said shyly. "Or do some shopping, or see what some of the Warblers are up to, I think Jeff got back last night. Or we could bake some Christmas cookies, I like doing that for the neighbors every year and Sam's brother and sister loved helping last year. Or make a gingerbread house! I haven't made one in years! "

Sebastian loved it when Blaine turned into a kid before his eyes. He smiled indulgently down at him. "B, just promise me you're not going to overschedule us every single day. Rob can tell you that while you might think you're getting a handsome and charming houseguest, what you are really getting is a dead body that you will not be able to move, no matter how many times you poke it with a stick in the morning."

Blaine snorted, "'Handsome and charming houseguest!' You are the vainest creature I ever met." He patted Sebastian's leg. "Don't worry Prince Charming, I'll leave us lots of time to relax."

Sebastian raised his eyebrows. "You'd better. I need to recover from last quarter if I'm going improve on it next quarter. The first game of the season for lacrosse is the end of January and I expect to be up to my ears in some sort of advanced Physics for engineering…because all that high school AP Physics bullshit was not enough." He sipped his coffee. "And you're just as vain as I am. You know you're handsome, you just pretend to be humble about it."

Blaine grinned. "Oh, shut up…" He stopped, staring across the room.

Sebastian followed his gaze to see Kurt Hummel standing in line, picking lint out of his scarf. He took a deep breath.

Blaine took one, too. "Well, I'd better go over there and say hi." He sounded tentative.

Sebastian looked down at him, narrowing his eyes. "Didn't you tell Sam you weren't going to talk to Hummel for awhile?"

"Right. For awhile," Blaine said absently, not taking his eyes off of Kurt. "But we never specified how long 'awhile' would be. Plus, it would be awkward to see each other and not at least say hi, right?" He got up, leaving his coffee and IPad on the table and his overcoat on his chair. "Watch my stuff, kay?" he said with determination, again not looking at all at the now annoyed Sebastian.

Sebastian watched Blaine as he walked with purpose across the room. He leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms.

"Kurt." Blaine tapped his shoulder.

Kurt turned around. "Blaine!"

There was an awkward moment until they both laughed. Kurt asked, "Do we hug?"

Blaine laughed nervously. "Uh, yeah! Sure! We can hug."

Sebastian watched them hug quickly and awkwardly. He uncrossed his arms and pulled out his phone to distract himself.

_SEBASTIAN: Idiots, party of 2 – right this way._

_SANTANA: Stop talking in code, Nerd. What's up?_

_SEBASTIAN: Kurt and Blaine reunion in the Lima Bean. I 'ship them so hard!_

_SANTANA: I'll be right over with a big white handkerchief._

_SEBASTIAN: Don't bother. Fangirl tears would be wasted on this little tableau. I'm more disgusted than anything else._

_SANTANA: I believe that as much as I believe you aren't an ass man._

Blaine asked slowly, "So how are you doing?"

"Pretty good…" Kurt answered tentatively. "I guess. You?"

"Pretty good…I guess." Blaine laughed weakly.

"Has Scotland been amazing?" Kurt eyes darted over Blaine's shoulder, then back at him again.

"Yes and no…" Blaine trailed off. He looked into Kurt's blue eyes searchingly. "Kurt, this is kind of silly. Maybe we can just sit down and catch up?"

"Aren't you with Sebastian?" Kurt asked, nodding in Sebastian's direction with a guarded expression on his face.

Blaine followed his eyes and turned around. Sebastian was saluting them, looking smug. Blaine turned back to see Kurt giving Sebastian a frosty glare. He rolled his eyes and wondered when Kurt and Sebastian would ever let go of their feud. "Um, yeah," he said, "I meant maybe we can sit down and catch up like tomorrow or something?"

Kurt tore his eyes off of Sebastian and his gaze softened. "Yes, I'd like that. I need to firm one thing up about my day tomorrow with my dad, though. I'll text you when I know for sure what time could work."

"Okay." Blaine hesitated. "Well, I'd better…"

Kurt nodded, his face carefully neutral.

Blaine turned and headed back to his table. He sat down next to Sebastian again on the couch and looked up at him.

Sebastian spoke in a carefully even voice, not meeting his eyes in favor of looking around the Lima Bean. "So, how is Kurt?"

"Pretty good," Blaine said tentatively. "It was weird, but we thought we should just catch up more over coffee tomorrow."

Sebastian felt a knot form in his chest. "Sounds fascinating." He got up. "I'm going for a refill. And then let's get out of here – ideally we can pick up my gift for your parents before your lunch with Tina. You can drive to your lunch, I won't need the car. Think I will hang out at your house this afternoon, maybe take a nap."

Blaine studied Sebastian's stony profile as he stood in the long coffee line, then thought about Kurt's icy glare. Over the Lima Bean speakers Dean Martin was singing:

_It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas  
Soon the bells will start  
And the thing that will make them ring  
Is the carol that you sing  
Right within your heart, right within your heart._

* * *

**Our Thanksgiving chapter in time for Thanksgiving! Hope you guys enjoyed it, I was a bit indulgent with their accounts - as you can see they didn't turn out to be terribly plot driven. Sebastian is just exhausted, I wanted to take care of him - even just for a weekend.**

**Also I gotta say I really cracked myself up with the baggage claim scene. Hope you laughed, too!**

**Please let me know, your reviews keep me motivated...this is a long haul but hopefully you are enjoying it as much as we are! Many thanks to my beta readers, Thomas and Dori!**


	6. Jealousy and Roughhousing

Welcome back to Seblaine, Home for the Holidays! Thanks again to awesome beta readers Thomas and Dori, and to everyone reviewing, commenting, favoriting and leaving kudos. It's very motivating!

Thanks for continuing to share this journey with us. In this chapter, the gorgeous Chace Crawford, of Gossip Girl fame, plays the hunky Tristan. Also, I hope you'll humor me, because (1) Blaine is not singing in the duet, which is kind of criminal, given the song ; and (2) I've been having a lot of Sebtana feels so she's all over this chapter and I love it – hope you do, too.

* * *

At ten o'clock Santana walked into The Tavern and greeted the group of New Directions alumni in the back part of the bar. The blues band wasn't playing too loudly, so the McKinley alums were able to gossip and joke easily around a round of drinks Sebastian had bought them. Nights like tonight proved to Sebastian that it had been worth it to drop a significant amount of cash to obtain a very believable fake ID. Sam and Sebastian sat slightly sat apart from the rest of the group, Sam having a beer and Sebastian drinking an expensive scotch.

When Sam saw Santana approaching, he bade Sebastian a hasty farewell and joined the larger group. He and Santana exchanged nods.

"Smythe," Santana greeted him, sitting down in the chair next to him.

"Lopez," he said, without looking away from the band.

"What, no hug this time?"

Sebastian turned his head to raise an eyebrow at her, but he didn't bother to say anything.

"Yo Twink, how come you didn't call me back or answer my text this afternoon? You just left me high and dry mid-textversation. What happened? Are Blaine and Kurt riding off into the sunset?"

"Not yet," Sebastian said grimly, swigging his scotch.

"What do you mean?"

"They are rendezvousing tomorrow for coffee."

"Well that doesn't necessarily mean anything."

Sebastian spoke slowly, but with anger. "Tana, who are you kidding? They will absolutely ride off into the sunset. They'll ride off on unicorns or ponies or some other Disney creature with rainbow ribbons stuck up their asses and smelling like daisies."

Santana laughed. "Okay, you are hilarious when you're jealous."

Sebastian ignored this and continued, gaining momentum. "You should have seen his face when he saw Hummel. He was starstruck - like Katy Perry had walked into the Lima Bean."

"He's still into Katy Perry?"

Sebastian glared at her and continued bitterly. "He literally couldn't take his eyes off of him, not five minutes after he had been practically sitting in my lap."

"Okay, he was not sitting in your lap in the Lima Bean." Santana said, chuckling.

"Well, practically…he was being the cuddle whore that he is when we're alone together."

At the other table, Sam was complaining to Blaine about Sebastian's grumpiness. Blaine frowned, then leaned away from his table to check on Sebastian. Sebastian raised his eyebrows at him. "What?" he mouthed.

"He's really tired from finals," Blaine explained to Sam. "Do you want to go home?!" he mouthed at Sebastian .

Sebastian shook his head, holding up his unfinished scotch. He also put his arm across the back of Santana's chair and cocked his head towards her. Blaine nodded and smiled tentatively at them. Sebastian didn't smile back and avoided his gaze.

Santana laughed. "Right," she said sarcastically. "You were talking about _that_ evil son of a bitch, right? That's right, that bow-tied demon was being…what was it? A cuddle whore?" She laughed again.

Sebastian ignored her snark and continued to fume. "Yes, he was being a cuddle whore and yes, I was enjoying it. And then Mr. Kate Hummelton walked in and Blaine shot across the room like a fuckin' bullet! I thought Hummel was going to incur an exit wound through his chunky, bizarrely striped sweater."

Santana drawled, "Smythe, you are a piece of work…"

Sebastian interrupted her, still steaming. "He shot across the room…without so much as a backwards glance. That's what gets me the most. Without so much as a single fucking backwards glance." He looked towards Blaine's table and took another sip of his scotch. "I mean ok, fine – go waltzing over to talk to your ex, get back together with him, see what I care, whatever - but show a little fucking respect. At least give me a parting gift – at least fucking _look_ at me to show me you're sorry we're not gonna happen, let me grab your ass , something! I mean, I took care of that ass for MONTHS!" he brought his glass down on the table with more than a little undue force.

Santana raised an eyebrow and turned to Sebastian. "How many drinks have you had, Ace?"

"Four."

"Holy hell." Santana put a hand on his shoulder. "Get a grip, someone will hear you. If he doesn't hear you himself, there are at least 5 gossipy birds over there who would love to tell Blaine how crazy you sound if you keep going with this rant."

Sebastian didn't looked like he cared if they did. "He's hopeless, San. He was supposed to take this year off and get his act together. To help him do that, I gave him his freaking space…a continent plus an ocean, in fact. It may as well have been a couple of continents - we couldn't even find time to even friggin' Skype except on the weekends.

"But that's the kind of thing you do when you turn over a new leaf. You help Blaine Anderson get some space to find himself. Well you know what? I'm going back to being a complete and total asshole. Or jackass. Or cartoon villain. Your choice, San. Because being nice doesn't just suck. It fucking blows."

Santana shook her head, still amused, but also slightly concerned. "You're really on a roll tonight."

"I mean, look where it got us. Even Sam did the right thing and got him to stop talking to Hummel. And Sam tried to help him live a little in Scotland so he can start to get on his own two feet without Kurt. But we do all this and what does he do? Takes advantage of the fact that Sam never specified how long 'awhile' would be. He was looking for a fucking technicality. That's right, the INSTANT he gets a chance to meet up with the Ice Bitch again, he does! And I bet he can't wait to jump right back into bed with him again tomorrow. I'd put money down that they'll take their little sugary chocolaty coffee drinks and head right back to that hotel where your glee club teacher almost got married."

Santana had to cut in at that point, laughing. "Whoa whoa whoa! You are getting way ahead of yourself. Seriously Seb - you have got to listen to yourself - you sound bats. Walking quickly across the room and staring - that's all you're basing this rage on? What did you want him to do? Ignore him? He hadn't talked to Kurt or seen him for three months. They were together – more or less – for three years. They were engaged. He probably didn't know what to say - of course he stared and couldn't focus on much else. Cut him some slack, you raving maniac."

Sebastian grumbled unintelligibly.

"Now listen to Auntie 'Tana. None of what you've just said necessarily means that he is getting back together with Kurt."

"Well none of it necessarily means he _won't_ get back with Kurt," Sebastian groused.

"True," Santana replied. "And unless you can tell me more about those emails and Skype calls you two have been exchanging this past fall, it sounds like it could go either way. And you are going to have to come to terms with that."

She paused and said bluntly, "You know you really _will_ live if Blaine ends up with Kurt. There are a lot of other hot guys around." She looked around the room. "Like that one," she said, pointing. "He is way too well groomed and dressed to be a straight waiter. You and Blaine aren't even a couple. Have some fun! Flirt with the hot waiter! Make Blaine jealous!"

She laughed at her own idea, then followed the train of thought. "Yeah! Why do you have to be the jealous one? Make Blaine jealous! Where the hell is the competitive Seb who won't let me win a single game of tennis and has to be the top score in every game on my phone? You really not up for going mano a mano with Kurt Hummel?"

Sebastian didn't turn to look at her. She could tell he was still stewing. He sipped his scotch. "Santana, don't fucking patronize me."

[author's note: Want to see a pic of Tristan? See imgur Sdqhcmp . jpg or the archiveofourown version of this story]

Santana was about to respond when the good-looking waiter she had pointed out earlier came up to their table. His voice was velvety and calm as he addressed Santana. "Hello, I'm Tristan. What can I get for you?"

Sebastian glanced up and Santana caught him giving the waiter a blink-and-you-miss-it onceover. She was gratified that Tristan was even hotter close up than he was from across the room. Sebastian said, "Put whatever she wants on my tab…the other waiter who was here before has it."

"No problem. He had to take off, but I have your tab now. I told him that I could… cover you." The look he gave Sebastian was discreet but could definitely be interpreted as suggestive.

An unreadable look flickered across Sebastian's face as he downed the rest of his scotch and raised his empty glass. "Then can you take care of me here?"

"Absolutely," the Tristan answered, smoothly taking the glass from him. Santana watched as Tristan made sure their fingertips brushed slightly.

Santana turned to the Tristan. "I'll have a dirty martini, but then please close out the bill for my borderline alcoholic friend here."

Tristan looked to Sebastian, who shrugged and nodded. As Tristan walked away, Santana watched Sebastian's bleary eyes following the retreating figure. "He was totally into you, Slick," she said. "The touch of the fingertips when he took your glass – that's ballsy – it takes finesse. _But_ don't go Halloween on me, no more drinking tonight – you'll mortify Blaine and win you no other fans."

The lead singer of the blues band crooned the encore. As the applause died down Tristan stepped on the stage briefly to say, "Karaoke's up next, don't go away."

Santana reached out and ruffled Sebastian's hair. "Karaoke, that's more like it. The blues are too depressing for you tonight, Smythe. Duet with me. I want to see what that fancy school and all that alcohol has done to your pipes."

Sebastian batted her hand away and groaned, "Not tonight."

"No MJ, none of us have energy for that," she promised. "But you can show Blaine you're not pining away while he makes up his mind…and that you can still have some fun. Come on, fake it 'til you make it. Just a little 'Dress and Tie…easy does it. And we'd better get up there before Blaine sings something that makes you think it's about Kurt.'"

Sebastian took a deep breath and looked over at Blaine. He didn't answer her.

Tristan was back with Santana's martini and the bill. He was obviously coming off his shift, having shed his nametag and the button-down shirt he wore over his black designer t-shirt. "Thank you very much," he said, laying the check folder down. He started to step away to give them time and space to inspect the bill.

"Hold up, we're paying cash and might want to leave soon," Sebastian said, reaching for his wallet.

Tristan stepped back over to the table. As Sebastian opened his wallet for the correct bills, Tristan asked, "You two from out of town?"

"Sort of," Santana answered. "Home for the holidays."

Sebastian gave a sideways glance to Santana's Mona Lisa smile. He looked directly at Tristan with a challenging look. "I'm in college in California and she lives in New York City."

Tristan met his eyes with a steady gaze, asking with casual cool, "Where in California? I graduated this past June from Cal Arts in LA. I'm home for the holidays, too. My parents own this place."

"I'm at Stanford." Sebastian said, looking back down at his wallet and pulling out two hundred dollar bills.

The group of New Directions alumni to their left laughed boisterously. Mercedes could be heard saying, "But remember when Kurt and Blaine sang Love Shack at Breadstix? That was way more…"

Sebastian extended his hand. "Sebastian Smythe."

"Tristan Rodanthe." Tristan shook his hand and gave him a subtly sexy smile.

"I'm Santana Lopez," she shook hands with a smirk. "So Tristan, do you want to join us?"

[author's note: Want to see a pic of Tristan? See imgur 7Lp7Ej1 . png or the archiveofourown version of this story]

Tristan sat down.

A few minutes later, Blaine leaned away from his group to check on Sebastian. He stared in surprise at the trio at the other table for a full minute until Tina noticed he wasn't moving or talking. She poked Sam, gesturing at Blaine. They followed his gaze and then looked at each other. "Uh-oh," Tina said softly.

Mercedes happened to hear her and looked to see what she was looking at. "Ooooh my! Who is the hottie with Santana and Sebastian?" Most of the rest of the table heard and turned to look as well. Blaine protested, "Hey, you guys, stop it! Turn back around!"

Artie teased Blaine, "Why? You don't want him looking over here? Don't want him to see you staring at him?"

The entire group was now staring, some more conspicuously than others.

"I wasn't staring at him," Blaine said defensively. "I was just wondering where he came from. And I was just saying that so you guys wouldn't embarrass Santana and Sebastian."

Quinn said, "Uh Blaine, I don't think that guy even knows Santana is at the table. "

Everyone looked more closely and saw Quinn was right, Tristan's focus was obviously on Sebastian, who was chuckling as he explained something. Tristan laughed lazily, lightly grazing Sebastian's arm as he picked up his drink. Blaine flinched.

"Sebastian's looking particularly good tonight, Blaine!" Quinn teased. "And we hear you two got pretty flirty on your trip to San Francisco…why aren't you over there making sure that hottie doesn't take your man?"

"He's not my man," Blaine said irritably. He gave Sam a dirty look and said in an undertone, "You are the biggest gossip!"

Mike said supportively, "Blaine doesn't have a man, he isn't going to date anyone for awhile."

"Who said anything about date?" Quinn said with a mischievous look in her eye. The table hooted.

They were interrupted by the announcement of karaoke. Santana dragged Sebastian up to the stage. They sat on two side-by-side stools and Santana handed a reluctant Sebastian a microphone. She said into her own:

"Hello, everyone. My friend Sebastian and I are home for the holidays and wanted to sing a little duet for you all. This one is for all of you out there who don't want to be lonely anymore …

Santana sang with her performance smile, trying to cheer Sebastian up :

_ [youtube watch?v=uXUyooZxfnw] _

_[Santana]_

_every night i walked the streets  
never dreaming what could happen  
sad and so lonely  
i saw in the mirror my reflection  
staring back at me  
i thought, will i ever find what i need?_

but i'll wear that dress if you wear the tie  
and baby we'll dance through the night  
cuz no one's got what we've got going  
happiness never held on to me  
until you had me see  
that together we're just better off

Sebastian sang seriously, almost wistfully at first:_  
_

_[Sebastian]_

_oh my heart's been tried  
time and again  
always thought that it was me but  
i see now just how wrong i was  
no, i haven't known you for a lifetime  
but somehow i've never been more sure that you're for me  
baby please  
don't leave, just come and dance with me tonight  
_

Blaine looked like small thundercloud. He was pretty sure he could see Sebastian making eye contact with Tristan as he sang "just come and dance with me tonight." He definitely could see that Tristan only had eyes for Sebastian - he didn't see him glance at Santana once.

Sebastian was gaining momentum and finding the joy in the music and the duet with his friend:

_[Both]  
but i'll wear that dress if you wear the tie  
and baby we'll dance through the night  
cuz no one's got what we've got going  
happiness never held on to me  
until you had me see  
that together we're just better off  
_

To Blaine's surprise, Sebastian locked eyes with him as he sang:

_[Sebastian]  
don't be cruel to me  
oh, i've wanted more  
and i've been wrong before  
_

_[Santana]  
so much learning to lose  
but you're not a day too soon  
_

_[Both]  
__so say you feel the same and  
__we'll never be lonely anymore_

The bar erupted in applause. Santana and Sebastian got up, smiling and acknowledging the audience, even stopping to pose for Mike's IPhone camera _[author's note: see /yOXxY3N . png]_. Tristan headed to the stage, passing them on their way to their seats. He clapped Sebastian on the shoulder and whispered something in Sebastian's ear that made him laugh.

Blaine looked in his lap and Tina held his hand.

Tristan picked up the microphone with ease. "Hello everyone, I'm Tristan. It's good to see some new faces here tonight, along with our regulars. This one speaks for itself."

He sang a One Republic song [youtube watch?v=BVlsWzaKuaM] with surprising soul and unsurprising sensuality:

_I was riding thinking with my long hand  
Put dream to paper everything was sinking  
Then start to wonder how you're gonna handle me  
When I'm under, swimming in the darkest sea_

Everybody wants to make it, it's all yours  
Everybody wants to take it, it's all yours  
Everybody wants to make it, it's all yours  
Everybody wants to take it, t-t-take it

Can you feel all the love?  
Can you feel all the love?  
You feel all the love  
Can you feel all the love like it was made for you?  
Like it was made for you  
Like it was made for you  
It was made for you

Tristan was obviously singing the song to Sebastian. Blaine turned most of his attention to Sebastian's reaction. If Sebastian felt Blaine's eyes upon him, he didn't show it. He looked more relaxed than he had been all evening, his body swaying a bit to the song's steady beat. He watched Tristan attentively, but he glanced away from time to time when Tristan's gaze grew slightly too intense. But he didn't look offended by Tristan's seductive looks. He looked flattered – that is, as flattered as Sebastian Smythe could look. He glanced down when Tristan's gaze lasted a moment too long, and wore a cool, very slight smile that Blaine rarely saw. At one point Sebastian leaned over to whisper something in Santana's ear. Santana nodded and whispered something back, pointing at something on stage. Sebastian's laugh rang out so heartily that even Blaine could hear it from where he sat.

Tina and Sam watched Blaine with worried eyes. "It's going to be an interesting couple of weeks," Sam said.

* * *

As the applause for Tina's version of "Trip the Light" died down, Blaine walked stiffly to Sebastian's table and tapped his arm. "Hey Seb, it's time to go."

Sebastian was laughing at something someone had said, but he twisted around to smile at Blaine. The smile vanished however, when he saw Blaine's troubled face. Sebastian put his arm behind Blaine and placed a hand at the small of his back. He asked in an undertone, "You tired, Killer?" The small gesture did much to soothe Blaine's perturbed spirit. He nodded at Sebastian.

"Let's go then. But first, Blaine, this is Tristan Rodanthe. His parents own The Tavern. They have family in Paris, too, if you can believe it. Tristan, this is the one and only Blaine Anderson ."

Tristan stood up to shake hands, revealing his full height of six feet, making Blaine feel like a complete midget. On top of that, Tristan's hair, jawline, eyes and broad, muscular frame were even better looking up close. Blaine felt queasy, but was politely gracious, smiling as he shook Tristan's hand. "Hi. You sounded great tonight."

"So did you," Tristan answered with a genuine smile. "Sebastian says you're going to be a Broadway actor, that's great. You definitely have the talent."

Sebastian smiled. "That he does. And Blaine, Tristan just graduated Cal Arts. He considers himself an actor first, then a singer…if you can believe it. I've been trying to convince him to give singing a full effort along with the acting."

Tristan smirked and gave Sebastian an indiscernible look before he turned to Blaine. "I think he's crazy, but who knows…maybe going at two things at once isn't the worst idea in the world."

Santana stood up, her eyes darting between the three guys. "Well I'm ready to head home. Anyone over there need a ride?" she asked Blaine, gesturing towards the rest of the McKinley alumni.

"No," Blaine answered, still looking at Tristan and Sebastian and swallowing thickly.

Sebastian was smiling as he got up. "Well, we'll see you, Tristan," he said, patting him on the back. "Good to meet you."

Tristan smiled into Sebastian's eyes, then said warmly to the group, "The pleasure was all mine." His gaze landed again on Sebastian meaningfully. "Have a great holiday, everyone – you know where to find me if you want to…hang out again."

Sebastian, Santana and Blaine said their farewells to their McKinley friends and headed to the parking lot. When they reached her car, Sebastian said to Santana, with a terrible accent and a cheeky grin, "Buenas Noche."

"Smythe, if I ever catch your privileged white ass attempting Spanish ever again, I'll have your hide," she warned, wagging a long fingernail.

Sebastian chuckled, "I love making you look like that."

She smacked him in the chest and Blaine laughed appreciatively.

"Good night, boys," she said, opening her car door and climbing in.

Sebastian leaned in before she could close her door. He gave her a swift kiss on the cheek and said in a low voice in her ear, "Thanks, San. Good times tonight."

She pinched his cheek and smiled, pushing him up and away as she put her seatbelt on. "Anytime, Twink."

"Bitch!"

"Whore!"

She closed the door, started the car, and drove off.

Sebastian turned to Blaine as they walked towards the car. "Now you do realize that Tristan propositioned us?"

Blaine stopped walking and his jaw dropped open. "What?"

Sebastian swaggered ahead of him towards the car, calling out, "For a threesome, Killer."

Blaine felt his blush creep up and down his entire body.

* * *

"Snix, my thank you last night was not an open invitation to turn me into your own personal Sherpa," grumbled Sebastian. He struggled to fit through the door of the Lima Bean with the six shopping bags he was carrying for Santana.

"Oh you owe me, Smythe, not just for last night but for helping Rob, who should be anointed to sainthood by the way, get your sorry ass into the car on Halloween."

"Fine, but I'm done repaying my debt today with the purchase of this mocha. And you have to stand in line for it," he collapsed onto a chair and dumped the bags at his feet. "My feet are killing me. 4 hours of shopping, who does that? I wouldn't have gone for a run this morning if I had known you were going to do this to me. And I would have worn my trainers." He toed off his Ferragamo loafers and flexed his aching feet.

"Cash," Santana snapped her fingers at him. He pitched his wallet at her. "And don't worry, I won't drink it here, 'cause I know we don't want to run into…"

Sebastian waved her off. "Yes, yes. So hurry the hell up." She headed off quickly. Sebastian tried not to think about the Blaine and Kurt coffee, but now that Santana had brought it up, it seemed like obsessing about it was all he could do.

There was a tap on his shoulder. "Sebastian!" He turned around to see an anxious looking Nick.

"Greetings, Duvall. Why do you look like someone stole your trust fund?"

"Are you still with Santana?"

"Yes…how did you know I'm with Santana?"

Nick ignored the question. "Doesn't she have her phone?"

"Yes…though it's out of battery…why?" Sebastian's brow furrowed. "What are you up to, Nick? It's like you've been watching too many detective shows – first that stunt at the airport, now you're messing with Santana? You don't want to go there, trust me. She makes me look like a flyweight. She could eat you on a pizza and wash you down with her diet coke."

"You guys have to get out of here," Nick floundered somewhat desperately.

"Duvall, you'd better tell me what's going on…" Sebastian threatened.

Santana returned, looking surprised to see Nick. "Hey Nick," she said, too casually.

Sebastian set his mouth in a straight line and glared at her. "Snix, you're slipping. So you're in on this too? Fess up."

Santana relented. "Ok, fine. Your Warbler buddies heard from Sam or someone that Blaine and Kurt are meeting up today. They are all worried about what's going down and they don't think that Kurt or Blaine will necessarily share the full details on what happens. I happen to agree with them. So they were going to listen in on the full details two hours from now, or at least that is when Kurt and Blaine were _supposed _to be here." She looked at Nick questioningly.

Nick looked frustrated. "They moved it, Sam found out from Blaine and said he texted you, but I guess your phone is out of battery?"

"It's not out of battery…" Santana argued.

"Yeah it is," Sebastian said gruffly. "You were so long in that one dressing room that I accidentally ran it out playing a couple of your games."

"Smythe!"

"Really?" Sebastian shot back. "You are going to scold me about your phone battery when both of you…" he trailed off when he noticed Jeff's towhead out of the corner of his eye. He looked with aggravation around the coffee shop as he spotted Jeff, Meatbox, Thad, and Trent and commanded them to each stand up guiltily in their different corners of the room. "Shit…when ALL of you losers decided to meddle in my business?!"

Nick tried to explain. "Seb we just wanted to be able to help you, in case there was gray area..."

"For the LAST goddamn time, Duvall – stay the fuck out of my business!" Sebastian turned to leave, but realized his shoes were still buried amongst Santana's shopping bags. "Damn it!" He started furiously digging them out.

Nick looked injured and guilty. Santana looked at him and then at Sebastian. "Friends get in their friends' business, Smythe. If you had more friends, my snobby little pal, you'd know. Now look, you can either…Shit!" she said in an urgent whisper. "They're here."

Blaine and Kurt were pushing through the door. Jeff, Meatbox, Thad and Trent instantly dropped back down to their seats. Nick bolted to his designated location. Santana turned her back to Kurt and Blaine, pulling her scarf over her hair and yanking the hood of Sebastian's jacket over his head.

"For fuck's sake, Santana!" Sebastian hissed.

Kurt and Blaine walked by, too engrossed in their conversation to notice the tall hooded guy shoving shopping bags around on the floor.

Santana sat down next to Sebastian, who stopped rifling through the bags and sat up. He couldn't stop himself from looking at Kurt and Blaine standing in line. It was like watching a train wreck. He couldn't look away even if he wanted to.

"This is pathetic," Sebastian fumed to Santana. "Humiliating, in fact. If they spot me, I'm the one who is going to look like I am spying on them – ME, not any of you morons. Which is why I will then light each and every single one of you on fire. In your sleep. Using lighter fluid."

Santana retorted, "Before you knew those guys were staking this place out, you were willing to take your chances with me in here so I could get a mocha. We just got unlucky."

"'Staking this place out.' You people need hobbies," complained Sebastian.

"Those guys have love for you, Seb. And you should be less of an asshole to Nick."

Sebastian just grunted.

"Well the good news is they aren't holding hands, right?" Santana reasoned.

"Can you just…not…" Sebastian covered her mouth with his hand.

She pushed his hand away and they watched in silence.

Blaine and Kurt talked as they moved up in line. "BORING," Santana said, "See? They aren't making out or anything!"

"YET." Sebastian said darkly. "And I said be quiet." He clapped his hand back over her mouth. She wiggled away.

Kurt and Blaine paid for their coffees and stepped to the side to wait for their order. They faced each other, talking earnestly.

Blaine reached over and straightened out Kurt's coat lapel.

Seb got up, not caring who saw him.

"Seb! Sit down!"

"I'm not gonna watch this." He grabbed her purse and rummaged in it, finding her keys. "Call me later, you can get those Warbler idiots to be your slaves and drive you to wherever I decide to go."

Santana protested, but Sebastian stalked out. Blaine thought he noticed a hooded, tall figure in the corner of his eye, but by the time he focused over Kurt's shoulder, he was gone.

* * *

Sebastian entered the Anderson house with the spare key and started heading upstairs for the shower.

Blaine came out from the kitchen. "Seb, I thought I heard you."

Sebastian looked down from the dark wooden staircase and paused, still warm from his workout and gripping the glossy banister too tightly. Blaine looked far too content. This could not be good.

"Santana called, saying your cell was off. She said to just drop her car off at her house. I can go with you anytime before 5:30, when Sam and Tina come over to make cookies. We have nothing planned this afternoon except to hang out with Coop, he gets in this afternoon sometime. See, I didn't overschedule us today!" He smiled.

Sebastian's gaze was calm but he didn't smile in return. "Ok, let me take a shower."

"Where were you? I thought you and Santana were going to shop today?

"We did. Then I went to the fencing studio."

"Oh, no wonder you look tired. And man, I wish you had waited for me…the studio in Edinburgh was so expensive, I only went once. Plus it's always so much more fun with you," he smiled engagingly.

_Don't fucking flirt with me when you're getting back together with your ex._ Sebastian didn't reply. He turned and slowly ascended the stairs.

In about twenty minutes, Blaine came upstairs looking for Sebastian. He knocked on the guest room door before popping his head in.

Sebastian turned from the dresser, wearing only a low-slung white towel, his hair in wet disarray. Blaine swallowed thickly, eyes wide. "Oh, sorry – I'll come back."

"It's okay," Sebastian said, taking a deep breath. "I'll just be a minute." He grabbed his clothes and ducked in the bathroom.

Blaine came in, still blinking at the image of dripping, towel-clad Sebastian now etched in his memory. He sat down on the bed and shook himself.

Sebastian stared in the mirror and composed himself. He called in as natural of a voice as he could. "So how is Kurt?"

"Pretty good." Blaine said.

Sebastian didn't respond.

Blaine took his knees up to his chest. "You know, it was really bizarre. In a good way, I think – but bizarre. I mean, in Scotland I had wondered what I would do if we ran into each other, and I had been contemplating calling him anyway. We knew we'd both be home for the holidays so I thought it would be weird if we didn't at least acknowledge each other - we have so many of the same friends and everything."

Sebastian gripped the pedestal sink with both hands and listened intently.

"Seb, can you hear me?"

Sebastian forced himself to speak evenly. "Yes."

"Oh, okay. Let me know if you need any hair gel or anything." He picked at the bedspread and continued. "Anyway, so last night before bed I kept wondering, 'Why I have been thinking about Kurt less and less lately?' Is it because I'm getting over him and ready to move on? Or because he has just been 'out of sight, out of mind' for so long that I've just been better able to push away thoughts of him? When I spent time with him again, would all the heartache come rushing back and I would have to go back to square one?"

Sebastian didn't mind and often enjoyed listening to Blaine's thought process, but today he wished he would get to the point. FAST.

"And if the latter were to be the case, would that mean I would never get used to not being in love with him?"

Sebastian _needed _him to get to the point. "So which was it today?"

"I think the former." Blaine sounded surprised. "I was surprised, and I think… relieved? I mean it was nice to hear about his life in New York, but I kept thinking about how distant he felt. Not that he was acting distant, but just that I don't feel intimately close to him anymore. I mean I still have love for him - I don't think will ever go away – but it didn't feel the same. I just wasn't as engaged with every detail, I wasn't wrapped up him as much. And weirdly, I didn't mind. It was kind of a relief to know. Kind of oddly peaceful, almost natural? Definitely not as awkward as I thought it would be. It makes me think we might be able to be friends one day, which makes me really happy."

Sebastian let out a big breath. He realized that he hadn't really been breathing well all day. He exhaled again, and while still in a bit of shock, got dressed.

"Ironically, the most awkward part was that we acknowledged that it was still awkward between us. So we decided that we not talk again until at least the summer. Give it a full year."

Sebastian wondered what he had done to deserve all this.

"Seb?"

Sebastian ran a quick comb through his wet hair, not bothering with product for the time being. "I'm listening," He came out of the bathroom, finally prepared to support Blaine again. "So how did Kurt seem with all this?" He sat down next to him on the bed.

"Really okay. I think we're kind of on the same page, which is great." Blaine answered. "He and I process stuff in the same way a lot of the time, and we were able to actually talk about what I just said." He looked thoughtful. "And at least from the outside, he seems a heck of a lot happier than I was in Scotland. He's started a band, has a fun job with Santana and Rachel at a diner…"

"I heard." Sebastian said. "Well he's been there a year already, and you guys aren't the exact same person….Thank god." He smirked.

Blaine batted him. "Be nice."

They sat in comfortable silence, still thinking about what had transpired.

"Seb?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for listening to me all this time, about Kurt: after our first break-up, after the wedding, now. I know he's not your favorite person."

Sebastian raised his eyebrows and shrugged. " But he's one of your favorite people, so what am I gonna do? It's part of the Blaine Anderson package ." He paused, still processing it all. "So are you okay with not talking to him for another six months? You're really okay with all of it?"

"I think so. I kind of feel guilty for being okay with it, though. Is that stupid?"

Sebastian put his arm around him. " No, it's just very you – which is not stupid . But it's okay to be getting over your heartbreak. It doesn't mean your relationship never meant anything or whatever."

Blaine chuckled. "'Or whatever'? How profound of you, Dr. Smythe. I will send you payment immediately for your psychiatric services."

Sebastian pretended to look injured. "I'm hurt! Not 30 seconds ago you were praising me for listening to you. Now you 're insulting my methods?"

"You're an excellent listener," Blaine said laughing. "You give pretty good advice. But drawing therapeutic conclusions? Not so much."

"Okay, let me talk to that new Scottish therapist of yours. She is polluting your mind!" He goosed Blaine in the ribs.

Blaine yelped and scooted up the bed and away from him. "Stop it! Now no good therapist would do that!" He grabbed a pillow and beat Sebastian with it.

Sebastian wrestled the pillow from his hands and threw it on the floor. "Would your therapist do this?!" He tackled him, then started tickle him. They wrestled on the bed, Blaine surprising Sebastian with his strength .

"Damn, Anderson!"

"I may be little, but I'm wiry!"

"Feisty, is what you are!"

Tears came to their eyes as they tickled and laughed until they were gasping for breath. They wrestled until Sebastian finally had Blaine on his back, hands pinned on either side of his head. They breathed heavily and looked in each other's eyes.

"Say Uncle," Sebastian breathed, their lips inches apart.

"SQUIRT! I'm home!" Cooper hollered from the foot of the stairs. "Come greet your big brother! And what's this I hear about Sebastian staying with us? Are you up there too, fancy Stanford man?!"

Blaine and Sebastian jumped up from the bed, flustered and straightening their clothes, looking everywhere but at each other.

Blaine was the first to recover. "Coop! Yeah we're up here!"

Sebastian and Blaine hurried out to the hallway railing, their cheeks flushed and hair in wild disorder.

Cooper gave them a knowing look and leered, "Was I interrupting something?"

Blaine hurried down the stairs and gave his brother a hug. "No," he gave Cooper a warning look. "We were just…goofing off.

"Hey Coop," Sebastian called too casually, making eye contact for a split second but then quickly avoiding Cooper's searching look. He muttered, "I'm going to finish getting dressed… getting ready." He turned back into the room.

"Blainey…you're BLUSHING again!" Cooper said wickedly.

Blaine rolled his eyes. "We were wrestling, okay? I'm just flushed from…roughhousing." He walked ahead of his brother into the kitchen.

"But how rough was it?" Cooper grinned.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Blaine, Sebastian and Cooper settled down next to the fire to watch "The Muppet Christmas Carol" at Cooper's behest.

After a few minutes, Blaine and Cooper noticed Sebastian's head nodding, then jerking up as he woke himself up and tried to keep his eyes open. Then his head would drop backwards, but as the back of the sofa was too low for his head to rest on, his head jerked back up.

Cooper chuckled from his armchair, "Watching tall guys fall asleep like that is so painful."

Blaine explained with sympathy, "He worked his tail off this quarter, poor thing. He said over Thanksgiving he was sleeping like 16 hours a day to recover just a little. Then last night we were out late, and today he spent like 4 hours shopping with Santana and then did some fencing. I'm surprised he's even alive."

He tapped Sebastian. "Hey Seb, you want to go upstairs?"

Sebastian grumbled and flopped his head backwards again towards the sofa. "Leave me alone, Rob."

Blaine smiled. "I'm not Rob, you idiot. Now go upstairs, you'll be so much more comfortable."

"No," answered Seb, eyes still closed, head still thrown back. "I don't wanna."

"Well at least lay down on the sofa," Blaine said.

"Fine," Sebastian groused, bending himself in half and twisting from the waist to take up half the sofa, feet still on the ground.

Cooper chuckled, "Well _that_ looks comfortable."

Blaine gripped him under the arms, trying to drag his upper body further towards him. "Lie down properly, you goon."

Cooper got up to help move him, "Sebby, scoot your butt up!"

"Stop talking!" moaned Sebastian, half asleep. He complied grumpily however, eyes closed, scooting his torso up the couch and bringing his feet up. For there to be enough room for his long legs, Sebastian flopped his head onto Blaine's legs. Blaine grabbed a small throw pillow and put it on his lap and under Sebastian's head to make him more comfortable. Cooper draped a furry throw on him. Sebastian turned sideways, made a few soft noises, then fell asleep completely.

Blaine stroked Sebastian's soft hair as he watched the movie absentmindedly, spending half the time looking out the window at the snow that was coming down heavily again.

Cooper looked over at the sweet picture his brother and Sebastian made. He didn't have the heart to tease, for once. "Hey, so what's going on with you two?"

"Coop, how many times do I have to tell you…"

Cooper interrupted him with his most reasonable tone. "That you're just friends? How many of your friends do you hold in your lap and pet? Are you honestly going to tell me you've don't feel, or have ever felt, _at all_ romantic about him?"

Blaine's hand stopped and he looked abashed. Sebastian breathed heavily in his lap. "Ok fine, I have had some romantic thoughts about him. I mean it's Sebastian…he's dashing and so good to me and hilarious and smart…of course I have thought about it before. But he's my best friend, Coop. I don't want to jeopardize what we have if he doesn't feel the same way about me. And I just don't know where he stands."

Blaine looked down with puzzlement at Sebastian's handsome face. "He writes these huge letters to me, but never says "I miss you" or anything remotely romantic in them. And you should have seen him last night, we all went out to a bar and there was this incredibly hot waiter flirting with him, and he was loving it."

"Was he flirting back?"

"Not blatantly…but in a bar Sebastian flirts almost by existing. I saw it at Scandals, when we were in San Francisco, last night...he's in his element. He kind of exudes a flirtatious energy once he gets going. It's fun for him…it doesn't mean anything. Anyway, he mainly looked flattered. I don't blame him, anyone would be flattered by a guy that hot flirting with them.

Blaine looked wistful. "But it just reminded me of how much…fun Sebastian must have without me. I mean it sounds like he had a wild night out on Halloween, he goes to all kinds of different parties all the time at school to blow off steam. I feel like all I ever do is complain to him about my life, or we talk about school, me not really liking the pub scene, or Sam's latest story or other really mundane things. He's listens to it all so patiently and makes me find the funny sides of it; he manages to take care of me even when even when I'm 5000 miles away. It's almost like he takes care of me like a little pet or something. Stanford is FUN. That guy at the bar last night, he was FUN. I am just…I don't know, a PUPPY." Blaine now looked frustrated.

"It looked like you two were having fun when I got to the house earlier," Cooper said, raising his eyebrows.

"Oh that…we were just playing around…" Blaine furrowed his brow. "I think. There was a moment right before you came in where I thought maybe he was going to kiss me…"

"I KNEW I was interrupting something!"

"I don't know…I could have been making that up in my head. We were laughing so hard, it could have just been that fun energy. I don't know that he thinks of me…that way. I mean you should have seen the waiter guy who was flirting with him last night. That guy was off the charts sexy – tall, muscles, perfect hair, chiseled everything…That's the kind of guy Seb's going to be interested in. The two of them standing next to each other was like, stunning." He sighed. "How can I compete with that? That guy has already graduated college, he was charming and sophisticated…just like Seb."

As if on cue, Sebastian snored. Blaine and Cooper laughed.

"Didn't you say he used to flirt with you all the time when you first met?"

Blaine shrugged. "Yeah, he USED to flirt with me. But he doesn't anymore. I can't remember the last time he's made a suggestive joke or any kind of innuendo - outside of when he was being a jerk on our roadtrip."

"Maybe he's just trying to be more respectful." Cooper suggested.

"Maybe…" Blaine said, watching snowflakes come down outside.

"I'd find out," Cooper said. "Find out, squirt."

"Don't call me that," Blaine said without any expression, playing with Sebastian's hair again.

Cooper studied his brother's face and decided to leave it alone for the time being.

The television sang and Blaine looked from Sebastian's sleeping profile to the fire:

"_It's in the singing of a street corner choir  
It's going home and getting warm by the fire  
It's true, wherever you find love it feels like Christmas"_

* * *

The doorbell rang and Sebastian answered it. It was Tina, Sam, and Sam's siblings.

Tina and Sebastian awkwardly greeted each other, ultimately exchanging air kisses, neither sure where they stood with the other.

"Merry Almost Christmas!" Sam was smiling and went in for a hug.

"Hey Sam," Sebastian hugged him back, saying in his ear, "Don't forget…your time is coming."

Sam looked at him, puzzled.

Sebastian grinned wickedly. "Payback, sir."

Sam groaned.

"What are you two talking about?" Tina asked.

"Oh, Sam gave me a Halloween treat and I was just reminding him that I'll be paying him back. That his time is coming." Sebastian said slyly.

Sam rolled his eyes. "Stacey and Stevie," he presented his brother and sister, "This is Sebastian. I call him Seb for short."

The two children nodded their heads at him politely, making eye contact and looking more than a lit tle intimidated by the tall, imposing figure with the serious face. Sebastian was impressed by their manners, but was a little perplexed as to how to treat them. He was always slightly uncomfortable around children. "Hello," he said seriously, extending his hand. "Please to meet you." The children shook his hand politely but didn't say a word.

He led them to the kitchen. "You're just in time, the pizza just came out of the oven and Blaine's putting in the first batch of Christmas cookies."

In the hallway behind them, Sam looked at Tina and laughed. "Yeah, I kind of pranked him on Halloween. But I'm not too worried about old Seb, what could he do to me?"

Tina looked at him like he was crazy. "We're talking about the Slushie Warbler here, Sam. He's got money, brains and access to Blaine. You're so screwed." She walked ahead of him into the kitchen.

Sam stared after her.

In the kitchen, Blaine was adorned with his bright red bowtie, chef's apron and oven mitts. He hailed the newcomers and greeted the children playfully. "I'm so excited you two came! I need lots of help decorating the cookies, okay?"

Mr. and Mrs. Anderson were grabbing slices of pizza and heading up stairs. Tina helped Blaine settle the children at the kitchen table with slices and milk, and lingered to chat with each other.

Sebastian and Sam sat at the large kitchen island and helped themselves to some pizza. "So you get all your shopping done, Sebmeister?" Sam was still experimenting with nicknames for Sebastian and immediately regretted that one.

Sebastian was too serene tonight to care. "Yeah, I don't have a lot of people to buy for, so I got almost everything yesterday – when I was at school things were too nuts to even think about shopping."

"Your mom lives in Paris, right?" Sam pulled a couple of sodas out of the refrigerator and tossed one to Sebastian.

"Just outside of Paris." He squirmed a bit internally and added, "So I sent her something a week or two ago." Sebastian took a bite from his pizza to avoid making any eye contact that might encourage further questioning. His mother was always difficult to explain.

Sam continued in his open and earnest way. "And Blaine mentioned your dad lives here, but you're staying with the Andersons because he's travelling for work? He's a…states attorney, right? Blaine said it's kind of like a DA, but for the state?"

"Right," Sebastian said, focusing his gaze on his third slice of pizza and commencing the pat explanation he always used for his father. "We don't have a states attorney in Ohio, so he passed the bar in Illinois and he spends most of his time there for his job. That's why my boarding at Dalton made sense. He basically lives in his house in Springfield. He has a girlfriend there too, but he flies back here sometimes to check up on things. You see, the house I lived in before my parents got divorced – where we had Kurt and Blaine's bachelor party - has been in the family for like a hundred years, so he'll never give that up."

Sam gulped more of his soda, sensing something off about Sebastian, but not knowing quite what to do with it. "It's an awesome house. But Blaine said you normally spend Christmas in Paris with your mom?"

"Yes," Sebastian said, glad for an opportunity to redirect their focus on the city. "Paris is pretty incredible at Christmas time. The aesthetic is stunning. I was telling Coop and Blaine how the Le Bon Marche, Printemps and a few of the other older department stores have these ridiculous window displays." He reached across the counter to grab Blaine's Ipad and pulled up a few photos from the internet for Sam.

"Wow…Stacey! Stevie! Come here! You gotta see this!" Sam called. Blaine, Tina and the children all gathered to look over Sam and Sebastian's shoulders. "This is Paris, where Sebastian has spent most of his Christmases," Sam explained.

Sebastian looked a little surprised at the audience, but he saw Blaine grinning at him, so he continued. He swiftly searched for more images to show the children. "Here are the lights up and down the Avenue Montaigne…that's where all the fanciest shops are," he explained to wide eyed Stacey, who had wriggled between Sam and Sebastian. "See the lights here look like champagne drizzling. Or, uh, sparkling cider." Blaine's eyes twinkled, watching Sebastian speak so seriously to the little blonde girl.  
He addressed Stevie with an equally matter of fact tone. "And this is how they deck out the Place Vendôme…it's an eight sided plaza that used to have statue of Louis XIV, a very rich king. Now it has the Column of the Grande Armée, which Napoleon put up – he was sort of a king that came later." Stacey craned her neck to look more closely at the photo, so Sebastian hoisted her onto his lap. Blaine melted a little and went to get his phone to take a photo.  
"And of course there's the Champs d'Elysees, the world's most beautiful avenue. See how the Ferris wheel looks like snowflakes?" Stacey nodded, her eyes sparkling.  
"Why aren't you there this year?" Stevie asked.  
Sebastian spoke in his straightforward manner, but searched a bit to complete his answer. "I wanted to come back to visit with some of my high school friends and see how their college experiences are turning out, and…I wanted to see my friend Santana…and your brother…and I have other family and friends nearby."

"But mostly Blaine." Sam whispered only loud enough for Sebastian to hear.

Sebastian arched an eyebrow at him and turned to Stevie. "You know Stevie, your brother is on my list."

"What kind of list?"

"The list of friends who are in trouble with me," Sebastian smiled. "His time is coming, the time where he reaches the top of the list and he gets what he deserves. Maybe you can give me some advice on how to punish him."

Everyone laughed. Stevie yelled, "You should play with his guitar! And tickle him! And take all his Chapstick!"

It warmed Blaine's heart to hear Sebastian call Sam his friend, even in the context of his "list."

Sam was saved by Cooper's grand entrance. "Hello, everyone!" Cooper smiled broadly as he swept into the room.

"Coop!" they all cried, except Sebastian, who just smirked at him as Cooper clapped him on the back. He was fast becoming Cooper's favorite, and Sebastian didn't mind. Tina looked at the two of them with trepidation – she was had always been Cooper's favorite.

Cooper played with the children while Tina and Blaine set up a cookie decorating station.

Sebastian turned back to his plate, feeling more comfortable after the laughter. He regarded Sam, thinking about everything he had done for Blaine and how good he was with his siblings. Sebastian normally avoided small talk, but he spoke anyway. "So what are the holiday plans for the Evans family?"

"Oh nothing big, stuff with the kids – ice skating, writing letters to Santa. We just do a small family Christmas, just us – no extended family."

Sebastian nodded, once again wondering what being in a family like Sam's felt like. He had seen them, Rob's being the best example, but he was always a guest, on the outside.

"So will your dad be back for Christmas Eve tomorrow?"

"No," Sebastian replied coolly, swallowing a bite of his pizza. "He has to work Christmas Eve and the day after Christmas, possibly Christmas Day – his work never really stops with hearings and appeals coming up all the time." He avoided Sam's eyes and sipped his soda. "I am going to see my grandmother and my aunt's family out in Dayton."

"That's great," said Sam, searching for a more pleasant direction for their conversation. "I don't have any grandparents left, and Stevie and Stacey don't even remember the grandma I did know. That's awesome that your grandmother is still around."

The reference to his grandmother helped dissipate some of the tension in Sebastian's body.

Blaine happened to glance over to Sam and Sebastian. Sebastian's posture was a little more rigid than usual and he had an odd look on his face. He came over and put his hands on Sebastian's shoulders, a diffusing more of the tension, almost on contact. "Hey Sam, maybe you could help Tina with the kids? Stevie's a little bit all over the place and he's not really minding me. I think I've hung out with them one too many times and they no longer feel like they need to be polite."

"Sure," Sam hopped up quickly, patting Sebastian's shoulder before he crossed the room.

Blaine sat down. "Hey, are you okay? You look a little…tense."

"Yeah, I'm okay," Sebastian shrugged. "Sam was just asking about my dad."

"Oh," Blaine nodded in understanding. "Well he didn't know any better…"

"I know, I know," Sebastian said distractedly, rubbing the condensation on his drink. "It's not a big deal."

Blaine patted his hand, knowing it _was_ a big deal.

Sebastian's phone pinged with a text message. He pulled it out of his pocket, read it, then slowly looked up at Blaine with genuine surprise. "Speak of the devil. A text from my dad. And get this…he wants to spend Christmas Eve with me."

"Really?" Blaine looked delighted.

"Maybe he has something bad he wants to tell me in person," Sebastian said, glancing sideways to think of what it might be.

"What? You're crazy. Let me look at that." Blaine took the phone from Sebastian's hand.

_DAD: Looks like I might be able to get away for Xmas Eve after all. Should we go out for a good dinner and stay at the old house? We could order a Christmas tree. I would have go back early Christmas day._

"Seb, this is really nice. He wants to spend time with you!"

Sebastian still looked doubtful. "Blaine, you have to understand. He NEVER does this. He came to my Dalton graduation, but I don't think he was there in time to see me actually get my diploma. I'm pretty sure he just got there in time to take one picture with me. Spending time together with me is not in his skill set."

Blaine remained optimistic. "Well maybe he wants to improve on that skill set. He must appreciate the fact that the two of you haven't spent a single Christmas together since your parents got divorced. What were you, eight? So he's missed 10 Christmases with you. He must be so happy you're not in Paris!"

"You're talking about it like I chose Paris every Christmas. He's never invited me to Christmas here. This is a first. He usually spends it with Sally."

"His girlfriend? Well maybe not this year, since his only son is not going to Paris for Christmas. Maybe he's always assumed you wanted to be in Paris, and that's why he never invited you?"

"Okay, now you're just spinning fairy tales. I'm still suspicious."

"Suspicious of what? Suspicious that he doesn't really mean what he's saying in this text? That he doesn't actually want to spend time with you? If he didn't want to spend time with you, he wouldn't have sent this text."

Seb had to agree that his train of thought was a little ridiculous. "I guess if he had bad news for me he probably would have just emailed me, that's what he's done for every other piece of bad news he's ever given me. That way he didn't have to deal with my disappointment in person."

"Exactly," said Blaine. "This is nice."

"Blaine do you know how awkward it's going to be? Remember that he can't talk on the phone with me for more than two minutes at a time. And even then there are uncomfortable pauses."

"I know it's always awkward. But you have to start somewhere. You just have to go in with the right attitude and try to help him."

"Help him?"

"Yes, we're officially adults now, and we should recognize that our parents are human and not perfect and might even need our help. You've made me feel more comfortable before, you can do it for your dad, too. Show him you're an adult now and that you'd like to have a different relationship now."

"Ok, that's all from your therapist."

"Yes, and she's very wise," Blaine said smiling. "And even if it's awkward, it will be a start."

"Awkward is just the beginning. It always ends with the criticizing."

"But it's Christmas. He's not going to criticize you on Christmas, is he?"

"How would I know? I needed a nightlight in my room the last time I spent Christmas with him."

"You should give him a chance."

"I'd have to miss Christmas eve with my grandmother."

"You could go to see her during the day."

Sebastian looked torn. "I guess so…"

"Seb, you should do this. I can tell you're starting to get kind of excited about it, just pull the trigger."

"What you call excitement is actually heightened awareness. Again, suspicion."

Blaine started getting worried about how long it was taking for Sebastian to come around to the idea. "Okay, okay, you don't have to do it, if you're not comfortable with it you don't have to go."

They sat in silence for a few moments.

"No, you're right." Seb said slowly. "I don't want to wonder what would have happened if I hadn't. I'm not going to chicken out on this."

He typed a text to his father: _Ok, what time should we meet at the house?_

Blaine smiled at him. "This is good."

"I hope so," Sebastian said with doubt.

"Is there anything I can do?"

Sebastian looked at him and arched an eyebrow. "You could break into your father's liquor cabinet to get me some liquid courage - I think I saw a 60 year old bottle of scotch in there."

Blaine gripped Sebastian's shoulder. "You're not going to need that, Mr. Cowardly Lion. You have plenty of courage without it."

Out of habit, Sebastian tried to find other levity in his situation. "Hm. Maybe you should help me pick out something to wear. What do sons of fathers who pay attention to them wear, exactly ?"

"I think we're going to have ask Sam about that one," laughed Blaine.

"Ugh, please don't let it be flannel."

* * *

So there you go! Hopefully no one was ever really worried about the Klaine coffee. But it had to be done, those boys loved each other for a long time and there needed be a check point. And your welcome on what is now seems to becoming a signature bit - the shirtless Sebastian scene :].

Hopefully everyone else was as glad as I was to see Cooper come home! And to glimpse the Warblers, once again looking like they have dropped out of a Scooby Doo cartoon :)

Please drop a line to say hi, reviews definitely me to update this fic as often as I can!


	7. Baseball, Nina, and a Fed-exed Tree

Welcome to a Merry and Angsty Seblaine Christmas Eve! We welcome back old friends Mr. Anderson, Mrs. Anderson and the infamous Uncle Willy, played by Chris Noth, Catherine Zeta Jones, and Robert Downey Jr. Plus, Coop makes a few appearances here and there. BIG Thanks for the ongoing efforts of Thomas and Dori, super-beta-readers!

Oh and, re: the first scene, YOU'RE WELCOME.

* * *

"You can't give your dad a bottle of scotch for Christmas," Blaine called from the bathroom, where he was doing his hair.

Sebastian sat on the bed. "Why not? It's what I give him every year – 40 year old scotch."

"That's so impersonal."

Sebastian examined the heel of his new shoes. "It's very personal. He likes scotch. It's all he drinks. And even he can't afford to drink the 40 year old stuff all the time."

"It's impersonal that you give it to him every year."

"You can never have enough good scotch."

"No. Just no." Blaine rolled his eyes and then tried to regroup. "Well, I guess this just means now we have to leave earlier than I thought and stop by the mall. So we can't wait for Cooper to come back and find that tie he borrowed from me and I can't wrap that last gift for your grandmother as artistically as I wanted to. We'll have to just get a giftbag at the mall."

"Tragedy!" Sebastian teased. Blaine shook his head, smiling as he noted again how Sebastian's spirits had been steadily rising since his father texted the day before .

"You know I love Christmas. I just like everything about it to be as beautiful as possible. And I've never met your grandmother before so I want her gifts to be as beautiful as possible when I'm there to help present them."

"Well there are plenty of beautiful gift bags. They were one of the great inventions of the 20th century, if you asked me."

"But they're too easy. When you handwrap a gift it shows you took the time because you cared."

"Or that you paid Bloomingdale's to handwrap it for you."

"My gifts are always more beautifully wrapped than any old department store," Blaine sniffed.

"That they are, that they are," Sebastian relented, eyeing the gorgeously wrapped packages on the desk. He strolled towards the bathroom to hurry Blaine. "Damn Blaine, Santana says I'm the one who takes forever with my hair…"

_[author's note: Want to see what Seb is sees? See imgurDOTcom/cjs9z6r]_

He stopped himself short when he reached the doorway and found an unexpectedly shirtless Blaine examining his hair in the mirror. It had been 3 months since he had seen Blaine shirtless, and he liked it about a 1000 times better now that Blaine carried himself with more confidence, a few more months past the Kurt-breakup. Now Sebastian fancied himself a cool character when it came to seeing hot, semi-naked men. Yet seeing shirtless Blaine Anderson, even more chiseled than he remembered last summer, newly muscled and even more attainable post-break-up, was...really, really, HOT. Sebastian felt himself get warm under the collar. Then he spotted the significantly more toned abs, the treasure trail down from his navel to…Sebastian shook his head. _Get a grip_. Sebastian Smythe did not get flustered.

What Sebastian Smythe did do was always retain the upper hand by getting a good laugh out of a sexy situation. "You're not even dressed yet? We have to go! And hell B, has Sam been dragging you to the gym? Because if it's him I have to thank, remind me to give him a spot bonus. Because I approve of the arms, and the new pecs. And the abs. Definitely the abs…" Sebastian smirked.

Blaine blushed. "Stop it! I'm almost dressed, see, I have my pants and socks on, I just couldn't find a clean undershirt and I never put my dress shirt on until my hair is done, otherwise I might get gel on it."

"Well then by all means, keep doing your hair!" Sebastian teased, waggling his eyebrows. "And it's nice to see you are still off the chest waxing, I don't know why Tina and Hummel were into you being a Ken-Doll. This is much better…delicious."

"Get out, you're making me self-conscious!" Blaine shooed him.

Sebastian gave him a pouting face but allowed himself to be kicked out of the bathroom. He headed to the closet. "I'll grab your shoes to save us some time." He stepped inside and called out, "Damn Blaine, you're like a woman – look at all these shoes!" He dug around, chuckling. "Okay this pair is hilarious – did you get these from the Elton John for Target collection?"

"Shut up! If you're taking about the red and turquoise pair I'll have you know that they are Versace."

"The fact that they are Versace does not make them less hideous! Kurt bought them for you, didn't he?!

"No comment."

Sebastian laughed triumphantly. "Hey, I found your Dalton loafers, you have to throw them out, they look horrendous."

"You are such a neat freak about your clothes and shoes. They're fine."

"They look like you went fly-fishing in them. Oh, and these leather flip flops look comfortable…where'd you get them? I want a pair."

"Oh, who is the woman now?"

"Excuse me, but if I got these, that would give me about 20 pairs of shoes. You easily have 50 in here."

"I do _not _have 50."

"Okay, I'm going to start counting…"

"Weren't you going to find me shoes for today?"

"Oh, right….you'll wear these black wing tips, yes?" he asked, digging out the most formal pair he could find.

"Yes," Blaine appeared behind him, now in a dress shirt. He grabbed the shoes from Sebastian's hands and swatted Sebastian's backside with them. "Now get out of my closet!"

Sebastian chuckled, then paused in front of a tie rack. "Oh but wait, I'll pick out a tie for you," he rifled through the rack quickly. "Ah-ha! The Dalton tie! Wear the Dalton tie! My grandmother loved the uniform."

"I am _not _wearing the Dalton tie." Blaine laughed. "It doesn't go with my suit." He found a red silk tie, threw it around his neck and stepped out of the closet to tie it in front of the mirror. "I'm so excited about Christmas this year! I got such perfect gifts for everyone. I couldn't believe I found those special Cuban cigars that my dad's been looking for forever. And Tina is going to die when she sees that I found purple alligator go-go boots! And Sam's going to freak out when he sees the life sized Wolverine and Cyclops cardboard figures I got him. They even fold down so we can put them in our suitcases and bring them back to the RC with us!"

"Ok elf-boy, stop bouncing with excitement for a minute, you're screwing up your tie," Sebastian said, chuckling. He moved over to stand in front of Blaine and bat his hands away. "Here, let me." He tied it carefully with his deft fingers. "There," he said, arranging the tie in place and straightening his lapels. They smiled into each other's eyes. "My grandmother is going to love you. Red is her favorite color."

They headed downstairs holding several gifts, depositing them on the hall table before ducking into the kitchen. Mrs. Anderson sat at the kitchen island, cutting bread for stuffing. Mr. Anderson sat in the breakfast nook with a newspaper.

_[author's note: Mr. Anderson in the kitchen: see imgurDOTcom/SCjo5Qj] _

Blaine said cheerfully, "Sebastian and I are leaving, I'll be back by 3."

Mrs. Anderson wiped her hands on her apron and stood up. "Okay, drive carefully in that snow out there. Merry Christmas, Sebastian. We'll see you tomorrow for Christmas dinner." She smiled into his face and hugged him. Mr. Anderson rose and shook his hand.

"Merry Christmas," said Sebastian, with a small but genuine smile for Mrs. Anderson and a friendly but respectful nod for Mr. Anderson.

"Oh, wait a minute," Mrs. Anderson ducked into the pantry and came out with a tall and narrow gift bag adorned with a satin bow.

"For your father," Mr. Anderson noted. "I haven't seen him since we were very young children – different boarding schools – but wish him a Merry Christmas. It's just some good scotch."

"I'm sure he'll appreciate it," Sebastian said sincerely.

"Bye!" Blaine called, as they walked out the door.

"Goodbye!" Mrs. Anderson called.

In their overcoats and scarves, their arms filled with gifts again, they walked onto the driveway.

Blaine rolled his eyes at Sebastian. "Just say it," he said.

"I don't know what you mean." Sebastian said, smirking.

Blaine opened the trunk and rolled his eyes. "Just say it, I know you want to."

"I think I'd prefer it if you said it."

Blaine put the gifts in the trunk. "No."

"If there is anyone who should feel obligated to say it, it's you..."

Blaine rolled his eyes. "Fine. Scotch can be a good gift."

"Ha!"

"FROM VIRTUAL STRANGERS."

* * *

_[Blaine]_

_Silver Bells,_

_Silver Bells, _

_It's Christmastime, in the city_

_[Sebastian]_

_Ring-a-ling_

_Hear them sing,_

_Soon it will be Christmas day._

Blaine interrupted their singing to warm his nose as they walked past the festively decorated shop windows. "I don't understand why Midwestern cities have outdoor malls," he said.

"Cheaper overhead," Sebastian replied dryly. He looked at his watch. "We have to go pretty soon, and I'm a little hungry. Can we just stop with what we have and go get a pretzel? I didn't have enough lunch in that god-awful food court."

"No," Blaine said grimly. "A scarf is not enough."

"I still don't see why a scarf is better than a bottle of 40 year old scotch," Sebastian said. "For all I know, he has that exact scarf."

"Nope, I doubt it," Blaine said triumphantly. "That scarf is from this year's exclusive holiday collection that benefits that pediatric AIDS Foundation."

"Of course it is," Sebastian said, rolling his eyes. "You are definitely on a roll with gift selection this year, Blaine Anderson - exorbitantly expensive and philanthropic. "

"And it's clothing – it's personal, he'll keep it. He won't just down it when he's stressed out and recycle the bottle when he's through with it."

Sebastian chuckled. "Okay, okay."

"Now we just need a little part two gift," Blaine said. "Ideally something sentimental, maybe something that reminds you of a special memory you have of him ?"

Sebastian smirked. "You are making a big leap in your logic there, B. You are assuming that I have special memories of him."

"There must be something," Blaine said hopefully. He saw a Disney store. "Did he ever take you to Disneyworld?"

"Nope, we always vacationed in Europe and those trips were mostly about my mom and that side of the family."

"Did he ever coach you on a baseball team or something?"

"No, he never made the time," Sebastian said, with some bitterness. Then he slowed his walking. "But there was one time…"

Blaine looked at him eagerly. "What? What?"

Sebastian looked unsure. "Well, I don't know if it counts as a 'special memory,' but there was one time he took me to a Reds game."

"That sounds perfect!" Blaine said.

"Ok, hear the story before you decide it's perfect. We didn't catch a homerun ball or anything. But yeah, he took me to a game. It was the only time he ever took me to a game. I was probably about 7." Sebastian looked at Blaine's encouraging eyes and continued, furrowing his brow to remember. "They were fighting a lot then - I remember my mom kind of badgered him to take me to the game. I was so excited about it because I had been playing baseball at the park with my friends for awhile and because I had been watching baseball on TV for at least a year or two by then…"

"And because it was your dad taking you," Blaine added quietly.

Sebastian nodded, stopping to lean on a closed kiosk. He looked lost in thought. "But I was a klutz back then, and going down those big stadium steps, I fell on our way to our seats. Big fall, hands and knees and shins and the heels of my palms on concrete, all skinned and bleeding. I remember it hurt really bad…I guess not just because I was bleeding but because I was really embarrassed."

He swallowed and Blaine squeezed his hand. "I remember crying and telling my dad I wanted to go home because everyone was looking. He scooped me up to hurry us to our seats behind the dugout, but I kept crying and crying and crying. I guess I was so disappointed that I had embarrassed us and screwed up this day that I had been so excited about.

"At first he was doing his usual thing, saying stuff like 'You're fine, it's okay. Shake it off,' but I had worked myself up to a point where I couldn't stop crying even if I wanted to. So then he just started talking, I guess to distract me. He started talking about his favorite baseball player: Ken Griffey, Junior. He told me every back story and statistic and game account he could think of about him. He went on and on and on, and it worked. I stopped crying eventually, and sat quietly for the whole game – I remember that he let me sort of huddle up next to him the whole afternoon. Closest I think we ever came to cuddling. I was afraid to move because I thought I would screw something else up. We didn't talk much, but I remember that I loved eating popcorn and peanuts and crackerjack because he said that's what you eat at baseball games, and I remember bragging about all of it at school on Monday."

Blaine had tears in his eyes. It was an exceptionally rare moment, when Sebastian entrusted Blaine with a glimpse of his younger self that had been locked away. Blaine did not take it lightly. "That's a beautiful story, Sebastian."

"It's not _Field of Dreams_, but that's all I got. The only memory from my childhood of my dad acting remotely like a dad is supposed to act. Take it or leave it."

"To the sports memorabilia store we go!" Blaine said, looking like a determined kitten. He clutched Sebastian by the hand and flew down the outdoor corridor. Sebastian smiled in spite of himself.

* * *

Sebastian rang the door chime on his grandmother's stately old mansion. It was not as expansive or grandiose as the Smythe mansion, but it had a more ornate and European feel to it.

"This place is gorgeous," Blaine breathed.

The door opened and a white capped maid greeted them.

"Merry Christmas, Celine," Sebastian said with a kind smile.

"Merry Christmas, Mr. Sebastian," she said with affection.

Sebastian led Blaine towards a sitting room. Through the open archway, they could see Sebastian's elegantly dressed grandmother sitting on a beautiful damask covered settee. Her snowy hair was like a cloud, dressed in an elegant topknot.

The moment he stepped in the doorway, Sebastian dropped his gifts and flowers on a table and strode straight over to his grandmother with an irresistibly boyish grin on his face. "Merry Christmas, Nina!" he said, kissing both of her cheeks and giving her a hearty embrace. "It's good to see you. Can't we move you to Stanford?"

Blaine stood near the door, in a delighted state of shock. "He had never seen Sebastian so…sweet. It was almost like watching a completely different person. It was adorable.

"Sebby, aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?" She beckoned Blaine to come closer, patting the seat on the chair to her right.

"Right, sorry." Sebastian said with sheepish smile. Blaine came quickly, smiling broadly and wondering if he had ever seen Sebastian look sheepish. No. Never.

Sebastian folded his long legs and sat at his grandmother's feet, making him look even more boyishly attractive. "Blaine Anderson, this is Marie Fondeur, my grandmother. Nina, this is Blaine, my friend from…Dalton?" He laughed a little. "We didn't go to Dalton together, but we met there…so I guess yes, my friend from Dalton. Blaine is studying musical theatre in Europe now – maybe I mentioned that in my letters to you?"

"Yes you did," Grandmother Fondeur said warmly, taking Blaine's hand. "Sebastian's never brought a friend to meet me before, so you must be special."

Blaine blushed. "I feel privileged to meet you," he said, "Sebastian has spoken of you often with me." He smiled at them both. "But he never told me he called you 'Nina' – it's always 'my grandmother' this and 'my grandmother' that."

"Referring to me respectfully, that's a good boy," Grandmother Fondeur said fondly, patting Sebastian's shoulder. He beamed at her and Blaine marveled at how much more handsome he was when he was wearing that smile rather than a smirk.

Sebastian explained. "My grandfather – I think I told you he died when I was 5 – used to call her 'Regina,' which means Queen in Latin. When I was a baby I couldn't pronounce it so I called her 'Nina.' She indulged me and never corrected me."

Grandmother Fondeur said with a smile, "He was the most beautiful little boy, how could I correct him on something as silly as my nickname?"

Blaine smiled. "And what may I call you…Grandmother Fondeur?"

"That will be just fine," she said warmly.

"I brought you your flowers," Sebastian said, jumping up to get the huge armfuls of red Ecuadorian roses he had brought. Blaine thought he looked like a prince coming to court.

"Heavens, child! Did you bring a whole garden?" she said.

"Well I used to bring them every week, but I was gone for 12 weeks, so of course I was going to bring you extra this time." he said, smiling at her indulgently.

Her laugh rang out so heartily that Blaine had to join her.

"I'll get some vases from Celine," Sebastian headed toward the door.

Once Sebastian was out of earshot, Blaine leaned forward with a shy smile. "Please, Grandmother Fondeur, tell me more about when Sebastian was a little boy."

She chuckled. "What do you want to know?"

"Anything. Like…what were his favorite things to do?"

"Most of all with me, he liked to listen to my stories," she said.

Blaine agreed, "He's a very good listener."

"And he loved to play the piano, dance, sing, watch musicals with me. He loved sports, too. He used to sit in my garden and throw a baseball in the air and catch it in his mitt for hours at a time."

Blaine thought that sounded lonely. "Was he ever naughty?"

"Yes and no," she said thoughtfully. "He was a sweet, artistic, active child when he was very young, but the divorce was difficult for him. It made him tougher, though that was not always a bad thing. But it did get him into more trouble, fights with other boys, sassing his mother." She looked lost in the memory. "She couldn't handle him very well, but he was always good for me. I made him mind me at a very young age. But I spoiled him too." She gestured at the huge pile of gifts in the corner and let out a little laugh. "Now he spoils me. "

Blaine smiled, thinking about how much Sebastian spoiled him as well.

Sebastian strode back into the room, the little boy grown up to be an attractive and charming young man. He asked his grandmother, "Do you want to open your gifts first, or shall we sing?"

"Presents first, of course," she said merrily.

They helped her joyfully rip through the wrapping paper. She pulled out a lovely Oscar de la Renta shawl. "I _am_ a regina!" she said, draping it over her shoulder and turning her nose in the air. Sebastian and Blaine laughed appreciatively.

The next, smaller box revealed a diamond brooch.

"Sebby, this is all together stunning," she said. She kissed Sebastian, who was sitting at her feet again. Then her sharp eyes looked between Sebastian and Blaine. "But you've never given me jewelry before. Is this your doing?" she asked, looking Blaine straight in the eye.

"I may have helped," Blaine said with a small smile.

She leaned over and kissed his cheek, too.

After all the gifts were opened, Sebastian walked over to the antique grand piano.

"Blaine's a better singer than me," he said. "So you're in for a Christmas treat." He played a few scales with a flourish. "But we always start with this one."

_ youtubeDOTcom/watch?v=vOwSLH5MrBk  
Sun-tanned,  
Wind-blown  
Honeymooners at last alone.  
Feeling far above par.  
Oh, how lucky we are!  
While I give to you and you give to me,  
True love, true love._

Blaine felt sentimental, watching Sebastian channel Bing Crosby.  
_  
So on and on it'll always be,  
True love, true love.  
For you and I  
Have a guardian angel on high,  
With nothin' to do.  
But to give to you and to give to me,  
Love forever true._

Blaine, who had also been brought up on old movie musicals, sang along joyfully to The Trolley Song:

youtubeDOTcom/watch?v=0odXnKhKBxQ_  
Clang, clang, clang" went the trolley  
"Ding, ding, ding" went the bell  
"Zing, zing, zing" went my heartstrings  
For the moment I saw him I fell_

_"Chug, chug, chug" went the motor_  
_"Bump, bump, bump" went the brake_  
_"Thump, thump, thump" went my heartstrings_  
_When he smiled, I could feel the car shake_

During the next line, Sebastian tipped an imaginary hat and Blaine clutched melodramatically at his heart, sitting down on the bench with him. Blaine laughed through his surprise. Sebastian Smythe was never corny...yet here he was, clowning.  
_  
He tipped his hat, and took a seat  
He said he hoped he hadn't stepped upon my feet  
He asked my name, I held my breath  
I couldn't speak because he scared me half to death…_

Sebastian winked at Blaine as they sang this one:  
youtubeDOTcom/watch?v=zbuTpGaO9_g

_[Sebastian]  
Bye, bye, baby  
Remember you're my baby  
When they give you the eye  
Although I know that you care  
Won't you write and declare  
That though on the loose  
You are still on the square _

_[Blaine]_

_I'll be gloomy  
__But send that rainbow to me  
__Then my shadows will fly  
__Though you'll be gone for a while  
__I know that I'll be smilin'  
__With my baby by and by, and by  
__With my baby by and by_

Blaine was missing Sebastian already and they had more than 10 days before they had to go back to school.

"I of course loved _American in Paris _even more after we vacationed there. I wanted to be Gene Kelly when I was five," Sebastian said to Blaine. "That's when I started dancing so much." He sang without one note of vibrato, twinkling at Blaine:

_'S wonderful! 'S marvelous!  
You should care for me!  
'S awful nice! 'S paradise!  
'S what I love to see!_

_You've made my life so glamorous_  
_You can't blame me for feeling amorous_  
_Oh! 'S wonderful! 'S marvelous!_  
_That you should care for me!_

Grandmother Fondeur clapped her hands, smiling at both of them. Sebastian got up from the piano and walked with purpose to an antique console cabinet behind the settee. He pulled out an expensive looking portable record player and a stack of vinyl records. The crackle of the first record made Blaine smile, and his smile grew wider as Sebastian made a gallant bow in front of his grandmother.

"And now," he said, "We dance."

She rose and curtsied, and they danced gracefully to _By Strauss_ from _An American in Paris, Edelweiss _from _The Sound of Music_, and a few other tunes Blaine couldn't remember the names of . He took photos with his IPhone. Sebastian was having too much fun to threaten him about posting them anywhere. Blaine wasn't sure his IPhone would really capture the carefree young man in front of him. He also wasn't sure anyone looking at his photos would believe that the young man was actually Sebastian Smythe.

When Grandmother Fondeur was finally out of breath, she sat down.

Sebastian looked at Blaine, his eyes gleaming – I know you grew up on old musicals with your mom, how about, from "Singin' in the Rain'…Moses Supposes?"

Blaine laughed, "I couldn't keep up with you, tap dancer!"

"Oh, it's just for fun, come on!" Sebastian said, with an encouraging wave of the hand.

So they went for it and attempted the famous number, dancing to the old vinyl record and making Grandmother Fondeur wipe her tears of laughter away [author's note: this is a MUST SEE classic dance number, it's fun to imagine Seb doing the Donald O'Connor part (he's in the green sweater and has the leaner build like Sebastian) and Blaine doing the Gene Kelly part (the one in the brown sweater whose build is closer to Blaine's. Check it out at youtubeDOTcom/watch?v=tciT9bmCMq8].

When they finished, out of breath and laughing, they sat down to have tea with Grandmother Fondeur from a beautiful antique tea cart Celine rolled in.

While Blaine was in the restroom, Nina said quickly, "Sebby, 'fess up to your Nina. You said in your letters he's not your boyfriend, but it certainly doesn't look that way. The way you look at him, the way he looks at you… "

"He's not my boyfriend, Nina." Sebastian swallowed.

"Well he should be. I like him," she said resolutely.

"He just broke off an engagement, only about 4 months ago. He's not ready. And I don't know that he loves me that way." Sebastian looked at the doorway, expecting Blaine to return any second.

"Well tell him _you_ love him that way! You do, yes?" she looked at him keenly.

"I…well..." Sebastian suddenly looked like a little boy.

"You do, I can tell you do." she said firmly. "Then you better tell him you love him. So when he's ready, he knows you're waiting."

"Nina, it's complicated."

"Sebastian Chase Smythe – that is nonsense." She spoke in the same straightforward way Sebastian often did. "You young people think love is so complicated. It's not. You love him, and from the looks of it, he loves you. So you tell each other. The rest works itself out. End of story."

"Nina…"

Blaine returned, wondering why Sebastian looked almost…embarrassed. But Sebastian Smythe never got embarrassed. He decided to let it lie. "Sebastian says you play board games. Do you know Parchesi?"

They played until it was almost time to leave. Before they left, they sang a few Christmas carols at the piano for Nina:

youtubeDOTcom/watch?v=HvAb4xfqcxA

_Hark! how the bells  
Sweet silver bells  
All seem to say,  
"Throw cares away."  
Christmas is here  
Bringing good cheer  
To young and old  
Meek and the bold_

_Ding, dong, ding, dong_  
_That is their song_  
_With joyful ring_  
_All caroling_  
_One seems to hear_  
_Words of good cheer_  
_From ev'rywhere_  
_Filling the air_

_Oh how they pound,_  
_Raising the sound,_  
_O'er hill and dale,_  
_Telling their tale,_  
_Gaily they ring_  
_While people sing_  
_Songs of good cheer_  
_Christmas is here_  
_Merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas_  
_Merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas_

_On, on they send_  
_On without end_  
_Their joyful tone_  
_To ev'ry home_

_Ding, dong, ding, dong_

Sebastian and Blaine got into the Anderson station wagon. As he fastened his seatbelt Blaine asked casually, "So how long do you think it will take to get to your house from here, SEBBY?"

"About 45 minutes, SQUIRT."

* * *

Blaine and Sebastian rolled up to the Smythe Mansion. "This place is so beautiful," Blaine said thoughtfully. "But I'm glad you stayed with us over vacation. This huge house would be lonely with just you rattling around in it."

Sebastian shrugged. "I did plenty of rattling around in it growing up. I'm used to it." He put the car in park and turned to Blaine. "But it's been very entertaining staying with the Andersons. I like watching Cooper try to get under your father's skin just to get his attention. And you and your mom are like the same person…you're so much like her, it's…" he searched for the word. "sweet."

"I guess every family has its own dynamic." Blaine smiled. "I'm excited for your Christmas Eve, Seb. This could mark the beginning of a new chapter in your relationship with your dad."

Sebastian shook his head. "Please don't start again with the Hallmark movie business. I'm trying to keep my expectations LOW."

Blaine nodded apologetically. "Sorry, I get carried away with Christmas. But go in with the right attitude. Remember you can help make him feel more comfortable. Unfortunately in this situation you may have to be the bigger man. Try to be okay with the silences - though I know that's not easy. That's something Cooper and I still haven't really mastered with my dad."

"Oh, the awkward silence doesn't last long, we move on to judging and badgering pretty quickly," Sebastian said with an impudent smirk.

Blaine squeezed his hand and looked a little worried. They got out of the car and pulled Sebastian's Tumi overnight bag out of the trunk, along with the two small gifts for his father and the Andersons' bottle of scotch.

As they walked up to the door, Blaine remarked, "The relatives are descending as we speak back at my house – by this time Coop and I would always stake out how to smuggle food out into our hiding place in my parents' wardrobe. Unfortunately this year my parents want us to perform so we're going to be stuck in the middle of things."

"Yes, it's unfortunate you can't hide out in a _closet_ like an eight year old anymore."

Blaine shoved him. "So did you hear from your dad since yesterday? Any updates about what you'll be doing tonight?"

"Nope. All I have is that first text. So all I know is that we are going to dinner somewhere good – which should be the highlight of the evening – my dad likes to eat well."

Blaine rolled his eyes at him. "That explains why you're such a food snob. But you're sure to do something else, too."

Sebastian considered this. "I can't imagine my dad planning anything. Well, I suppose there's the tree, does that count? When he wrote 'We could order a Christmas tree' – it meant he wanted_ me_ to order a Christmas tree. So I ordered one online yesterday and spent a fortune getting it Fed-exed. So if looking at the tree is considered 'doing something,' then that is also on the agenda."

"There it is!" Blaine spotted at a huge cardboard box and several smaller boxes from FrontGate, lying behind a bush near the front door. "It's beautiful," he said, turning his head sideways to look at the photo on the label. "They sell such elegant things."

They took off their coats and suit jackets and dragged it into the house.

Blaine looked at his watch. "Do you want me to help you put it up?" he asked.

"No, you need to get back to your family – your mom looked frazzled, you should go help her – you know your dad and Cooper are going to be useless," Sebastian said. "I'm not meeting my dad at the restaurant until eight tonight, so I have hours and hours to do it."

"Are you sure? You don't want me to stay with you for a little longer?" Blaine looked worried again.

Sebastian took him by the shoulders and pushed him towards the door. "Blaine, I know you and Cooper are you used to being in each other's hair all the time, but some of us 'only' children are really okay with being alone. I'm going to be fine all by my lonesome for 6 whole hours. I have plenty to do here with this tree and I actually _can_ do it without you. Then my dad will be here for the Father-Son Christmas Relationship Challenge and I'll have his potentially moody and disapproving company for several awkward hours. But I won't be lonely!"

Blaine laughed. "Okay, okay. I just know you won't be able to decorate that tree as beautifully as I would."

"You aren't the only one with an artistic eye around here, Killer." Sebastian said, tickling Blaine a bit as he opened the front door.

Blaine giggled a little and turned around to face him at the door. "Fine. I'll see you tomorrow then. That's when I'll give you my gift, okay?"

"Okay," Sebastian's eyes twinkled. "That gives me time to run out and get you a gift from the gas station."

"Santa is going to leave coal in your stocking," Blaine said. Then he gave Sebastian a hug, looking just like a kid again. "Merry Christmas, Seb."

Sebastian hugged him back and murmured fondly in his ear, "Merry Christmas, B."

Then Blaine got into his car and drove away.

Sebastian watched him drive off, a sweet smile on his face. Then he turned back to the front hall and surveyed the pile of FedEx boxes. He carried them into the multimedia room. It was not the most picturesque room in the house, but the one he thought would be the most functional for tonight. If his dad didn't have a plan for after dinner, Sebastian could suggest a movie and they could watch it with the Christmas tree gleaming at them from the corner of the room. Perhaps they could open up the Andersons' bottle of scotch and watch _Giant_, or one of the other James Dean movies his father had recommended to him when he was 9 or 10. Sebastian had loved them, even though he had never watched any of them _with_ his always busy father. It was a good plan involving a minimum of actual conversation.

After dragging the large tree box into the room from the hall, he rolled up his shirt sleeves and took his tie off to start ripping into all the boxes. Unpacking the various tree branches and boxes of ornaments took time, so eventually he got up and plugged his IPhone into a docking station and opened Pandora. Blaine had used it last when his own phone had run out of battery, so of course it opened on a Christmas station. Sebastian let it play when he saw it was playing one of the few American Christmas carols he didn't find too schmaltzy for his taste:

youtubeDOTcom/watch?v=qAi-LLcNKbU_  
Come they told me, pa rum pum pum pum  
A new born King to see, pa rum pum pum pum  
Our finest gifts we bring, pa rum pum pum pum  
To lay before the King, pa rum pum pum pum,  
rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum,_

_So to honour Him, pa rum pum pum pum,  
When we come._

With a grave face, Sebastian worked steadily to put together the 8 foot Christmas tree, which was prewired with white lights, just like those he remembered on the last tree they had during the last Christmas he had spent with his father.

_Little Baby, pa rum pum pum pum  
I am a poor boy to, pa rum pum pum pum  
I have no gift to bring, pa rum pum pum pum  
That's fit to give a king, par rum pum pum  
rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum,_

_Shall I play for you, pa rum pum pum pum,  
On my drum?_

_Mary nodded, pa rum pum pum pum  
The ox and lamb kept time, pa rum pum pum pum  
I played my drum for Him, pa rum pum pum pum  
I played my best for Him, pa rum pum pum pum,  
rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum,_

_Then He smiled at me, pa rum pum pum pum  
Me and my drum._

Next were the ornaments: several expensive boxes of traditionally beautiful balls, snowflakes, delicate stars, angels, icicles and other baubles. He had even ordered a few musical themed ornaments to indulge his own taste. It was a big task, so after several minutes, Sebastian turned off an obnoxious Christmas carol that had begun playing and turned on the TV. He flipped past Jim Carrey's ugly mug in _The Grinch_, the cheesiest scene in _The Family Man_, and _Home Alone 2_. He finally stopped on _Miracle on 34__th__ Street_, vaguely remembering his grandmother playing it for him when he was younger.

When he was finally finished with the many boxes of ornaments, he stepped back to survey his work. It was lovely, but it didn't look quite right. It didn't look like other people's Christmas trees. He thought of the Andersons' tree, which wore beautiful ornaments, but also many of Blaine and Cooper's handmade childhood ornaments and the strings of cranberries and popcorn they made last night with Tina, Sam and the kids. Sebastian shrugged, knowing there was nothing he could do to make a tree look more sentimental in a house that hadn't had any sentiment in it for 10 years. Just as he handled many such issues in his life, he decided not to dwell on it and be satisfied that the tree was aesthetically gorgeous. Perhaps next year he could get Sam's siblings to improve upon it.

He headed upstairs to change out of his suit, carrying his tie and suit jacket. He smiled, thinking of Blaine pulling on his tie in the middle of a song that afternoon. He broke into a quiet chuckle as his thoughts drifted to his grandmother's merry laugh when he and Blaine clowned for her during The Trolley Song. The slightly surreal conclusion he had to make was that he was feeling more grateful than he had in years.

He could hear the movie still playing downstairs:

"_Look Doris, someday you're going to find that your way of facing this realistic world just doesn't work. And when you do, don't overlook those lovely intangibles. You'll discover those are the only things that are worthwhile."_

Sebastian found himself humming _Carol of the Bells_ as he got dressed in the blazer and collared shirt he wore at the Top of the Mark. He thought of Blaine's glowing face when they danced, and the way he looked at Sebastian when they returned to the hotel room. As he changed his shoes, he shook himself out of that daydream and he thought ahead to tomorrow's Christmas dinner Blaine and the Andersons. For reasons unbeknownst to him, he then found himself thinking of Mr. Anderson. Blaine and Cooper, over beers and the vestiges of the pizza last night, had speculated that their stoic father was getting more sentimental with age. Sebastian found himself wondering if that was also the case with his own father – perhaps that was why he wanted to spend Christmas Eve together?

Sebastian went downstairs, heading for the kitchen for a snack to tide himself over before the late dinner. He would have to steal something from Teresa's stash and replace it tomorrow, since no one had been living in the house since before he left for Stanford. He managed to find a large bag of pretzels in the pantry and a bottle of root beer in the refrigerator. Heading back through the entry hall, he spotted the gifts for his father on a console. He should put them under the tree. He picked up them up, juggling the scarf box, the gift bag, the wine bag with the bottle of scotc, the big bag of pretzels and the soda bottle wet with condensation.

He really should have known better than to carry that much at once, because the precarious armful made him move too quickly towards the coffee table to unload his burden. The moment his new, slick leather Ferragamo soles hit the edge of the rug in the multimedia room, he tripped and dropped almost everything. He had the good sense to hold on to the expensive bottle of scotch, but the slippery root beer bottle went flying and broke into a sticky glass mess all over a side section of the hardwood floor.

Sebastian's first thought was how Blaine would have laughed at what was probably a droll sight – the great Sebastian Smythe, still a klutz - long arms and legs floundering, bags and boxes flying, landing on his ass. He had to chuckle at himself as he stood up.

He headed to the kitchen, then to the corner of the attached garage. It was when he grabbed the broom, dustpan and mop that he spotted them. Boxes of Christmas decorations on the bottom shelves in the far corner of the enormous garage. He had assumed any family decorations were in Paris with his mother. When he opened the first box, he realized they were leftover from a Christmas party his father had given for his boarding school reunion a few years ago. Sebastian dug through the box in case there was anything to add to the little tableau he was creating for himself.

For himself and for his father, he admitted reluctantly. Blaine had said he should make his father feel comfortable. That he should help his father. Yet his father had done little to deserve it. His father had done little to deserve a second chance with Sebastian. But a second chance was what Blaine had given him, so he would do the same for his unskilled father, who had tried to care for him at the Reds game so long ago.

Sebastian first put aside yards of exquisite garland. He wasn't sure he would be able to drape them as artistically as Teresa had. Under the garland he also found two handsome wreaths. They would be easy enough to put up. Under that was just more and more garland, until he spied a large plastic storage case at the very bottom of the big box. He raised his eyebrows when he saw what was inside the case: a few dozen Christmas ornaments. They were not perfect and expensive like the ones he had just hung, but personal and individual and…sentimental. They must have been accidentally left behind by his mother. Among them were a clay disk with his small handprint pressed into it; a silver rattle ornament from Tiffany's engraved "Baby's First Christmas" and tied with a Tiffany blue ribbon; a Cincinnati Reds ornament in the shape of a baseball; a picture frame ornament with a photo of his late paternal grandmother holding a very blond baby Sebastian. Also, wrapped very carefully in extra tissue paper were at least a dozen truly atrocious looking construction paper, felt, and cardboard ornaments clearly made by a clumsy young boy's hands.

30 minutes later he had finally cleaned up the root beer mess. As he walked back from returning the cleaning supplies to the garage, his phone chirped with the tone he designated for Blaine's texts.

_BLAINE: I take back everything I said. Forget your dad, get back here and save me from Cooper and Uncle Willy. _

_SEBASTIAN: Uncle Willy is an affront to all women, animals and everything lovely in this world. I love that guy._

_BLAINE: Uncle Willy brought GUINNESS to a Christmas party. Who does that?! I am having Halloween flashbacks. They are shouting for my cousin Sadie to chug it, and I know I'm next. Coop's got that look in his eye._

_SEBASTIAN: Sounds fun. It's crickets here._

_BLAINE: Fun? You're just cruel. Crickets sound wonderful. Maybe we should change places. Can I come over?_

_SEBASTIAN: As if Cooper or your mom would let you. I bet if you pulled your dad aside though, you might be able to get him to drive you. My guess is he hates that party as much as you do but he loves your mom too much to say anything. But wouldn't that be something? Your dad, my dad, you, and me. An awkward holiday catastrophe waiting to happen._

_BLAINE: My dad keeps looking at me like I should be doing something._

_SEBASTIAN: Doing what?_

_BLAINE: I don't know, if I did, I'd be doing it._

_SEBASTIAN: That's his natural countenance, remember?_

_BLAINE: Gotta go, Uncle Willy is going for the 60 year old scotch. _

_SEBASTIAN: Godspeed _

Amused by the Anderson household report, Sebastian decided to finally take a break from his industriousness. As he sipped his drink, the bright red gift bag Blaine had picked out for his father's second present caught his eye from the coffeetable. He idly picked it up and dug through the tissue to have a second look at the autographed Ken Griffey, Jr. rookie baseball card protected in an expensive collectors' glass case. He stared at it for a few seconds, wondering what he father would say when he opened it.

He finally stood up to hang the family ornaments, feeling a little silly about it for some reason.

When his phone beeped with a text in his pocket, he immediately remembered the reason. He remembered all the reasons why it was foolish to hang up relics of a past he didn't even remember clearly. He remembered why his family was not like so many others and pretending that they were was idiotic. He remembered why he kind of hated Christmas. He remembered why he really, really, shouldn't give any more fucking credit to hope.

He thought all of this because it was not Blaine's text tone and he instinctively knew that it wasn't going to be a text from Santana, or Rob, or Nick. He pulled the phone from his pocket and read it with a grim expression:

_DAD: Can't manage getting back. Sally really wants me for a family thing tonight, and some extra work has popped up, which means I probably have to go into the office for at bigger chunk of tomorrow. You'll probably have more fun with your buddy's family anyway. Talk soon. Merry Christmas. _

_SEBASTIAN: Ok. _

"You may have to be the bigger man," Blaine had said. So Sebastian's fingers bitterly pounded out the bald-faced, 14 letter lie.

_SEBASTIAN: Merry Christmas_

He could feel his temperature rise, but he refused to throw or kick something. It just wasn't worth the energy. His father had done this before. He had not delivered before. He had decided to bow out of being a dad before. This was just another case in a long line of father failures. Sebastian was not going to be a cliché. He wasn't going to kick, scream, break things, or drink himself into a stupor, just because his father was an idiot. He hated to be a cliché, a Cat's-in-the-Cradle-sappy-TV-movie-fucking-cliché. The poor little rich boy with daddy issues.

Dropping the baseball ornament in his hand on the coffee table, he strode out of the room, hitting the light switch on the way out. The Christmas tree still glowed in the corner, but Sebastian didn't notice.

This time his phone chirped with another text from Blaine. At first he wanted to ignore it, but then he berated himself for thinking of doing that. None of this was Blaine's fault, why should he ignore him or worry him? If he followed these stupid first impulses, his fucking father was going to ruin his life.

_BLAINE: Coop and I had to tackle Uncle Willy and wrestle it out of his hands, but the scotch is now in my closet upstairs. And no, that does not mean you get to drink it tomorrow _

_BLAINE: You there?_

_SEBASTIAN: I'm here_

_BLAINE: So how does the tree look?_

_SEBASTIAN: Fine_

BLAINE: _Was it hard to put together?_

_SEBASTIAN: Kind of_

_BLAINE: What do you mean?_

_SEBASTIAN: Forget it. Hold on, I'll be back. _

He texted as he strode up the stairs, two or three steps at a time. Once in his room, he grabbed his overnight bag from the bed, yanked out a pair of jeans and a sweater and changed quickly. As he turned to leave, his eyes landed on the door to the custom built, soundproofed music room his parents had added-on to his room so they wouldn't have to hear him play at all hours of the night. He was tempted to lock himself up in there like he did as a child when his parents were fighting too loudly, to listen to Eminem or play a raucous song on the piano to drown out his disappointment.

"Yes, we're officially adults now, and we should recognize that our parents are human and not perfect," Blaine had said.

Sebastian felt like he could write a paper for his Stanford lit professor on why that was an understatement. He hurried down the stairs to the garage, grabbing the keys to his father's Mercedes.

_BLAINE: Hey my mom's calling me. Be back later…_

He could go to his Aunt Laura's, but he wasn't sure he could handle the cousins today. And he knew his grandmother would see right through him and start fuming about his father. After her heart issues last year, he didn't want to be the cause of anything stressful for her – especially on Christmas.

_BLAINE: I'm back. So is it good to be back at your house again after Stanford? It felt so good when I got home, though I guess being abroad makes you feel even more removed from home._

_BLAINE: You there?_

Sebastian's foot gunned the Mercedes down the interstate.

"Karaoke time!" Aunt Martha shouted. "Blaine and Cooper you are up first of course!"

youtubeDOTcom/watch?v=bg8fCyRbv_I

_Oh yeah...  
Candles burnin' low,  
Lots of mistletoe.  
Lots of snow and ice,  
Everywhere we go.  
Choirs singin' carols,  
Right outside my door._

All these things and more  
(All these things and more)  
That's what Christmas means to me my love  
(That's what Christmas means to me my love)

_BLAINE: You there? Where did you go? _

_SEBASTIAN: I was driving_

_BLAINE: Lucky you. We sang karaoke and Cooper was so pitchy, but he couldn't hear it at all in all this noise. _

_BLAINE: Where did you go? Why aren't you getting cozy by the fire with a movie? I really think you need to give "It's A Wonderful Life" another try_

_SEBASTIAN: I'm at the lake_

_BLAINE: Oh, you're venturing into the frozen tundra! _

_SEBASTIAN: I have a lot of time to kill_

_BLAINE: But can you even see the lake with all the snow we've had lately? It's got to be frozen over and covered with snow, right? _

_SEBASTIAN: I can see some of it _

_BLAINE: I'd go to Otterbein, it's so much closer  
_

_SEBASTIAN: Too small, crowded_

_BLAINE: I doubt it is crowded on Christmas Eve _

_SEBASTIAN: Alum lake is where I go _

_BLAINE: But how can you enjoy it when you can't see it? Otterbein is just kept up better in the winter.  
_

_SEBASTIAN: I'm here – it's a moot point now. Enough with the badgering_

_SEBASTIAN: Are you still there?_

_BLAINE: Yes_

_BLAINE: Are you mad at me for something? Did I do something?_

Blaine's phone rang. He ducked into the hall closet.

"I'm sorry, B. I'm really sorry. It's not you."

"Seb, what's wrong? You sound…"

"He's not coming."

Blaine was stunned into silence.

"I got the chicken-shit text while you were wrestling Uncle Willy for the scotch."

"Oh Seb, I'm so sorr…"

"DON'T be sorry for me, okay? It's not the end of the world. I'm the one who should be sorry – for being an asshole and taking it out on you. But I'm going to be fine. I came out to the lake to get some air and it's good to be out here. It's not like he's never flaked out on me before. I'm used to it. I'm fine." Sebastian kicked some small snow covered rocks on the walking path.

"You're not being an asshole. And I'm not pitying you, I'm just sorry that this Christmas has been screwed up by your shithead dad_._"

Blaine very rarely swore, and Sebastian heard heat in his voice. It was kind of comforting that Blaine was pissed off at his dad.

"Whatever. It's not worth talking about more."

"Ok…but get back here soon, I want to see you."

"Go to your house? No - I'm in such an evil mood, I would probably embarrass you by being a vile guest."

Blaine's eyes widened. "You can't spend Christmas Eve by yourself in that big house."

Sebastian shrugged. "It's fine. I've done it before."

"What? When?"

"Our junior year. My mom had an exhibition in Japan that year so I stayed here. My dad was at Sally's and I didn't want to deal with my Aunt's family."

"Oh." Blaine thought about how cold and calculating Sebastian had been that year with Kurt and all the other New Directions. This explained some of it.

"Go back to your family, enjoy the combined insanity of Cooper and Uncle Willy. I just need some time to cool off."

"Cool off at our house, I'll make everyone leave you alone."

"Blaine, I don't want your parents and Cooper and especially your Uncle Willy and all that extended family asking questions about why I'm suddenly appearing. And I'm not going to make you lie, choir boy."

"I can lie," Blaine said stoutly.

"No," Sebastian said firmly. "I'll see you for Christmas dinner tomorrow night. I'm gonna go now. I'll call you later."

"Wait! No, Seb, just no. You're not spending Christmas Eve and Christmas morning alone on my watch."

"Blaine, I am not a prisoner for you to guard. No means no."

"Can I at least come to see you?"

Sebastian paused. He didn't want to see anyone else, but seeing Blaine could be… really good. "How could you? You've got all that family there…"

"I'll get Coop to cover for me. I don't need to tell him what happened, I'll make something up."

Sebastian relented. "It's okay, you can tell him about what a prick my father's being. Coop'll get it, he's had rows with your dad before. And you're a terrible liar, so just tell him because if you don't he'll end up getting it out of you anyway."

Blaine's relief was palpable. "Ok, good - I can be at your house in 25 or 30 minutes, maybe 20 if I can tell fend off Cooper's inevitable follow up questions..."

"Blaine, I'm not bleeding. You don't need to rush out of there. And why don't I meet you halfway somewhere? I know you'll get all weepy on me if you see the big house you think I rattle around in on Christmas Eve … I can't deal with you trying to conceal your horror."

Blaine sighed. "I'm not that bad – but okay, do you want to meet in the Westerville Town Square by the Christmas tree? We can get an early dinner."

"Blaine, you can't eat with me, your mom has been rubbing herbs on that goose for days. I swear your dad was getting jealous ."

"Well I can get a drink and I'll watch you eat."

"Well that's just creepy."

"Shut up and meet me under the tree at 5:00."

"Fine."

"Call me if you need anything before then."

"Not suicidal, Blaine."

Blaine rolled his eyes. "Bye, Seb. See you at 5."

"Bye."

* * *

Cooper sang along loudly with Uncle Willy, who was leading the room in a rousing rendition of 'Love is All Around' from _Love Actually_.

Blaine yanked on his brother's sleeve and dragged him to the pantry.

"What's up, little brother?"

"It's Sebastian…his dad cancelled on him."

"Oh no…"

"He won't come…"

"Go get him."

"I'm going – just cover for me…"

"Of course."

"He doesn't want anyone…"

"…to know. Got it."

Blaine gave his brother a grateful look and fled for his car keys.

* * *

And there you have it! This was for some of you who enjoy a little angst with your coffee (along with a shot of Courvoisier – DORI). If you're feeling worried, don't be – the next chapter is almost pure fluff. SPOILER: Blaine cheers up Seb (of course) and they have a very Merry Christmas Eve!

Please keep reviewing, as it helps keep us going! Would love to hear what you think of Grandma, another new original character, if Seb's angst and Grandma!Seb is staying within your headcanon of him, and if Blaine falling in love, and anything else you particularly liked or disliked!


	8. Town Tree & an Anderson Christmas Eve

_Welcome to a Very Fluffy Christmas (once you get past the first scene). Once again, Mr. and Mrs. Anderson join us, played by Chris Noth, Catherine Zeta Jones. Coop is there too, of course._

* * *

Sebastian arrived a little early, found street parking easily right next to the giant town tree and sat in his car to keep out of the cold. He stared at a group of carolers several blocks away. His gaze wandered over to the town tree, resplendent with lights and sparkling with oversized ornaments. He felt foolish about the artificial, FrontGate tree back at his home. _An artificial tree, how appropriate_ he thought darkly. At least the town tree was real.

He turned on the radio. Unsurprisingly and somewhat annoyingly, every station was playing Christmas carols.

He stopped on a station when he heard the voices of the Vienna Boys Choir singing, which reminded him of the year he sang in a boys choir at the American church in Paris:

youtubeDOTcom/watch?v=UeArqQw-aVA

_Silent night  
__Holy night  
__All is calm, all is bright  
__Round young virgin mother and child  
__Holy infant so tender and mild  
__Sleep in heavenly peace  
__Sleep in heavenly peace_

He thought of how Blaine would love this arrangement. Blaine loved Christmas. Blaine practically personified Christmas – or at least the best of it. Sebastian would be damned if he let his father ruin his first Christmas with Blaine. Sebastian Smythe, big, bad, slushy throwing bully, was not going to be that kind of cliché, either – he was not going to be a fucking Scrooge because his father was an asshole.

Sebastian pulled the keys and got out of the Mercedes quickly, hoping the cold would numb the hot tears he had to wipe away.

Blaine started searching the sidewalk for Sebastian several blocks away from the Town Square. His heart ached when he spotted six foot two Sebastian actually looking diminutive, silhouetted against the enormous Christmas tree. No one else would know, but Blaine knew his posture was too rigid, his face too carefully composed.

Blaine parked and climbed out of his car. "Hey," he said softly, unsure if Sebastian wanted a hug or not.

"Hey." Sebastian looked up at him and gave him a half smile. "Where is your scarf and your hat ?"

Blaine shrugged. "Oh. I guess I forgot them."

"It's freezing, I'll get you a hat." Sebastian said. Not noticing that he had also forgotten a hat for himself, Sebastian was intent on taking care of Blaine. He opened his car and rummaged in the glove compartment for the spare beanie caps he kept in there. Then he remembered his car was at Stanford and this was the glove compartment of his father's "spare" Mercedes, containing nothing but a tire gauge, registration card, and the car manual.

"Fuck, of course he doesn't have any," he spat out. He drew his hand out, irrationally cursing his stupid father for not carrying spare beanies in his car. Blaine was going to be cold because of his goddamned, shitty, sorry excuse for a fucking father. It was the last straw and his blood began to boil. He focused all of his energy into keeping himself under control. He slammed the glove compartment closed and shut the car door too hard. He leaned back against it in silence, muscles tensed, head bowed, staring too hard at his expensive boots.

"It's okay," said Blaine, touching his arm lightly.

Sebastian tensed up even more and didn't move. If he moved he might cry - and damn it, his dad wasn't worth crying over.

Blaine tucked his head over Sebastian's shoulder, reaching up to wrap his arms around him tightly. His eyes filled with tears.

A few hot tears dripped down Sebastian's face as he let Blaine hold him close. Blaine held on to him as if he were afraid Sebastian would blow away. With a few shaky breaths Sebastian let himself settle into Blaine's arms, slowly wrapping his arms around Blaine to reassure him that he was going to be okay, resting his chin on the soft wool of his coat and not wanting to let go until at least next week.

But eventually he pulled away, arms still around Blaine's waist, winking too hard. He took a deep, weary breath. "I guess we should go get me something to eat."

Blaine had never seen Sebastian look so...brave. It also hit him that this was probably just one of many, many times Sebastian had to be brave after his father disappointed him. Blaine wiped the tears from eyes with one hand and squeezed Sebastian's arm with the other. "Can we go for a walk first? It's so pretty in downtown Westerville this time of year." He knew instinctively that Sebastian needed more air and comforting before he could be persuaded to go back to the Andersons' house.

Sebastian nodded and Blaine linked their arms as they began making their way around the town square. They walked in silence, both of them reflecting on the day and the evening.

After a minute of that, Sebastian didn't want to reflect anymore – his father had ruined a day that had included introducing Blaine to Nina. He had wasted half of Christmas Eve trying to be the better man for a father who didn't deserve it. None of this was worth dwelling on, because it would only remind him that he was an idiot for letting it happen.

The group of carolers saved him from his thoughts, appearing in the far corner of the square, their voices floating across the cold night air:

_[author's note: listen to the carolers here: youtubeDOTcom/watch?v=agL18eXo7R8__ [__  
_

_Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree, of all the trees most lovely  
__Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree, of all the trees most lovely  
__Each year you bring to me delight, meaning in the Christmas night  
__Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree, of all the trees most lovely_

As the carolers sang, Sebastian stared at the towering tree across the square. Then he looked down as Blaine unhooked his arm and slipped his hand into Sebastian's pocket, intertwining their fingers. Blaine squeezed his hand and looked at him with empathy, and caring, and yes, it was unmistakable…love. And no, there was not a drop of pity in his big hazel eyes.

_Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree, with faithful leaves unchanging  
Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree, with faithful leaves unchanging  
Your boughs are green, in sommers glow and do not fade in winters snow  
Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree, with faithful leaves unchanging  
_

Blaine inwardly blessed the carolers. Music was so good for Sebastian's soul – Blaine had seen it at work on several occasions.

[author's note: if you want to see the Westerville Town tree, see /17DzGfgDOTjpg

_Each year you bring to me delight, meaning in the Christmas night  
Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree, of all the trees most lovely_

Sebastian looked again at the majestic tree across the way and then back at Blaine. Blaine, who left his family on Christmas Eve to come hug him. Blaine, whose heart was two sizes too big and who chose to share it with him, of all people. If Christmas was love, as the cliche went, well then Christmas was Blaine; at least to Sebastian. And Sebastian would never, ever, let anything his father did screw with his love for Blaine, and any love Blaine had for him.

No, he was not going to let his father ruin Christmas.

They made their way around the large square and reached the tree once again. They both looked up at the large star that shone at the top.

The female soloist and a guitar playing companion amongst the carolers started "A Christmas Waltz"

_ youtube_DOT_com/watch?v=FVaFoAIVzok _

_Frosted windowpanes  
Candles gleaming inside  
Painted candy canes on the tree_

Santa's on his way  
He's filled his sleigh with things  
Things for you and for me

Blaine knew what lines were next and realized with sudden force that there was no one he'd rather be with at that moment .

_It's that time of year  
When the world falls in love  
Every song you hear seems to say  
"Merry Christmas  
May your new year's dreams come true"_

_And this song of mine_  
_In three quarter time_  
_Wishes you and yours_  
_The same thing, too_

They both looked up at the tree and the stars peeping through the highest branches. As Sebastian's gaze dropped from the star to Blaine's handsome profile, he thought of what his grandmother said: "You better tell him you love him. So when he's ready, he knows you're waiting."

He looked back at the star at the top of the tree and swallowed. Blaine was trying to take care of him tonight…it didn't seem like the right time…or was it? He turned to look at Blaine again and was surprised to find Blaine was already looking at him. Blaine had a beautiful look on his face, very similar to the adoring look he wore when they returned to their room from the Top of the Mark.

As he looked at Sebastian, Blaine was surprised - almost frightened - at the depth of his feeling for him. It was one thing for him to appreciate this year how much Sebastian was willing to do to take care of him. It was another thing to recognize that he very much wanted to be able to take care of Sebastian in return . But it was something entirely different to realize just how much he cared. Blaine suddenly knew that he didn't want to just take care of Sebastian – he wanted to love him. He would do anything if this brave, incredible man would just let him all the way inside his heart. He wanted so much to give Sebastian the love he so truly deserved and to be the one Sebastian loved with his whole heart in return.

Sebastian took Blaine's other hand.

A car honked. "HEY YOU GUYS! BLAINE!"

Blaine and Sebastian spun around to see Puck leaning out the window of an SUV pulling up next to them. A smiling Jake Puckerman was at the wheel. "Hey guys," he said laughing, forcing his brother to sit down so he could see them. "Merry Christmas!"

Blaine gave them a wide smile. "Thanks, man! What are you guys up to?"

Sebastian gave them both a half smile and a nod.

"Pickin' up the Chinese food, 'natch," Puck said to Blaine. "What are you guys doing out? Isn't this the night the Gentiles are huddled around the eggnog and stuff?"

Blaine answered quickly. "Sebastian's staying with us this Christmas – we're just here on an errand. We're headed home right now, though."

Sebastian quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Well we won't keep you then," said Jake politely. "Have a great time with your family. Hopefully we can all get together in the next week, or at the very least we'll see you at Mike's New Year's Party, then?"

"Definitely," Blaine said with a smile.

"Alright then, later dudes!" Puck said, giving Blaine a fistbump. He saluted Sebastian. "Merry Christmas, Cap'n Warbler!"

Jake rolled his eyes and jerked a thumb towards Puck. "He's had a little of the Manchievitz, he says he likes to drink it on Christmas Eve to reaffirm his faith."

Sebastian gave them a small smile and an amused nod. Puck was always entertaining.

"Merry Christmas! Bye!" called Jake as they drove away.

"Bye!" Blaine called after them, also blessing Puck for making Sebastian smile, even a little.

Sebastian turned to him with a smirk. "Okay, maybe you can lie a little."

Blaine grinned at him proudly. "See?"

Sebastian smiled. "Alright, I know now to watch out for your deception."

Blaine's mind wandered back to his train of thought before the Puckermans showed, and he suddenly felt at a loss for words.

There was an uncomfortable pause. Sebastian was the first to recover. "Now, can I eat already? I apparently have reduced verbal dexterity due to malnutrition."

Blaine replied demurely, "Grandmother Fondeur says presents first." He ducked into his trunk and pulled out a large box, beautifully wrapped with pearl trimmed satin ribbon. He thrust it in Sebastian's hands.

"We were going to exchange gifts tomorrow," Sebastian objected.

"I couldn't wait. And gift giving shouldn't be about reciprocating. I don't care if you give me anything in return or not," Blaine said artlessly.

Sebastian laughed. "And now we're back to you being a terrible liar."

Blaine snatched the package back. "So do you want your gift or not?"

"Well since it's not in a gift bag…" Sebastian chuckled, using his long reach to pluck it from Blaine, "hand it over ."

Blaine laughed, eager to give it up. "It's actually not anything big and exciting. You are impossible to shop for, you know. You're so picky. And what do you buy for the guy who has everything, and who buys everything he wants the moment he wants it?"

Sebastian chuckled, "You don't buy for that guy, he sounds like a spoiled brat."

Blaine smiled. "Just open it."

Sebastian quickly took off the ribbon, paper and lid to the box and smiled as he pulled out an embroidered Royal Conservatory hoodie.

Blaine gave him a playful grin. "I broke it in for you, I wore it for a week."

Sebastian gave it a sniff and smiled broadly. "Yep, it smells like you."

"Do you like it?" Blaine looked up with a grateful expression. "It's just…I feel like you've spent a lot of this year taking care of me. I want you to know I always want to take care of you, too."

"You already take care of me, Killer." Sebastian said, tucking the hoodie under one arm so he could put his other arm around Blaine. "Who listened to my stressed-out-little-rich-boy whining all quarter? Who must defend me to his friends all the time?" He winked at Blaine. "Yes, I know they think I'm Satan." He stuck out his lower lip. "And who is here on Christmas minding this little lost orphan?" He gave Blaine a little side-hug. "But yes, I definitely like it – it's flawless, just like you. It will make me feel like you're taking care of me even when you're dead asleep in another time zone."

Blaine felt a twinge, thinking about leaving Sebastian again.

Sebastian also looked a bit grim at his own statement. He shook it off. "But don't think this means you get to keep the other hoodies you've stolen from me." He mused, "Ah, Blaine Anderson, now both a thief _and a _liar – my work with you is almost done ."

Blaine looked at him slyly. "You can add manipulation to that list of skills I am honing, because I conveniently left part two of your gift back at the house. So now you have to come home with me for Christmas eve." His look was now pleading.

Sebastian rolled his eyes and sighed. "We went over this…"

Blaine put both hands on Sebastian's arm. "Just come home with me," he pleaded, looking up imploringly. "Please? I really want you to be a part of our Christmas. I can smuggle you into my room during the family party if you want and Coop and I can bring you dinner. That goose really smelled incredible when I left! And my dad kind of kicks everyone out by 9 and we do this really nice Anderson family Christmas Eve ritual where we read out loud and we sing around the piano, and then we hang our stockings and my dad scolds us to go to bed even though Cooper has always had too much sugar and doesn't fall asleep for at least two hours which means he bounces into my room and he ends up falling asleep in my bed and kicking me all night. And then Christmas morning is always so nice…my dad is in the best mood he is in all year and my mom makes this incredible breakfast strata, and Cooper gets all excited when we open his presents and my mom always makes these really cute oohing and aahing sounds when she opens hers, and my dad forgets to open his presents because he's more interested in watching other people open theirs, and then we usually reminisce about other Christmases and we always tell the story of when..."

Sebastian held up a hand to stop him. "Okay, okay, okay – you've officially filibustered and puppy-dog-eyed me into it. Just stop talking and I will go."

"Oh I'm so glad!" Blaine looked up with affection, wrapping his arms around Sebastian's waist, in spite of the paper, ribbon and box Sebastian was still holding on to.

"Okay, Snoopy," Sebastian said, wriggling free to dispose of the wrapping in a nearby trashcan.

They climbed into the Anderson station wagon. Blaine started the car, smiling fondly at the sight of Sebastian folding the hoodie carefully in his lap.

"You're really just coming with me because you want part two of your present, don't you?"

"Bingo," Sebastian said with a smirk.

Blaine rolled his eyes and they drove past the snow banks towards home. Sebastian looked at the town tree in the rearview mirror until it was out of sight.

* * *

Blaine and Sebastian closed the front door quietly and were tiptoeing across the hall towards the stairs when Cooper spotted them through the archway to the living room. He ran over and tackled Sebastian with an enormous embrace, greeting him breathlessly: "Sebastian…"

Blaine rolled his eyes. "Coop, let him go and stop trying to milk this moment to use as an acting choice later."

As Cooper dragged them into the party, Sebastian chuckled and said to Blaine, "So now that he knows my pathetic backstory, I'm going to get those suffocating hugs that I thought were reserved only for you?"

"Your backstory is not pathetic. But yes…welcome to the family," Blaine chuckled.

"I knew I should have stayed home with Ebenezer," Sebastian replied, rolling his eyes.

Blaine was relieved to see that Sebastian seemed to have a reasonably good time for the remainder of the party. Most of the relatives were too tipsy to know whether or not they had met Blaine's tall young friend earlier in the evening or not. Sebastian chose a seat next to Uncle Willy at dinner and they looked like they were making an endless number of inappropriate jokes during their side conversations.

As had become customary over the years, the relatives began to bid their farewells immediately after dessert. When the last of the guests were gone, Mr. and Mrs. Anderson went upstairs to change their clothes while the catering company cleaned up the party. Sitting down next to Sebastian, who was nodding off on the sofa, Blaine explained again about an Anderson Christmas Eve. "Usually Coop and I don't bother to change, we would just eat extra dessert, pinch and shake the presents under the tree and call our parents to come down once the catering staff are gone. When he was a teenager, Coop used to sneak beers before we'd call them," he laughed. "Then they come down and we read our bits from the Christmas books, sing the carols, and hang our stockings."

Cooper approached them, rolling up his sleeves. "So for now, we have a little time to kill," he said, ruffling Blaine's hair to a significantly fluffier state. Blaine pummeled him for it as Cooper began to stretch and yawn ostentatiously, saying: "So I guess I'll go take a nap. Which means I'll be going upstairs. And closing the door. And turning on my white noise machine. So I won't be able to hear anything outside my door. And the folks and I won't come down until you call us. And the catering staff never go into the study. Or the media room. And there are locks on both of those rooms." He winked at them and turned to head upstairs.

Sebastian was still falling asleep on the couch. His head jerked up. "What? What's going on?" he asked sleepily.

"Nothing," Blaine answered hastily, blushing a deep shade of red. "He's just going upstairs to change," he glared at his brother, "into a less obnoxious person!"

Sebastian was still fighting sleep, desperately trying to stay awake for Blaine's sake. It felt like a losing battle. "Blaine, didn't you say earlier tonight that we have a little time now before the family stuff begins?" He was thinking that laying down for just a few minutes on that really comfortable sofa in the media room was in order.

"Yes," Blaine replied, feeling sorry for exhausted Sebastian. He'd had quite a day, after all. He tried hard to keep the disappointment out of his voice. "Do you want to lay down for a bit? You're nodding off, Seb."

Sebastian was very drowsy, but he could still always detect when Blaine sounded disappointed. He remembered Blaine wanted to give him part two of his gift, so he shook himself and stood up. "What? And miss a minute of an Anderson Christmas Eve? No way." He was still very tired, but motivated himself to rally, the way he would at school when it was 2AM in the morning and he was still not finished studying. He'd been known to study standing up to keep himself from falling asleep. "If we have a little extra time, what I want is coffee. I think I saw a bottle of Courvoisier in your dad's liquor cabinet. And where is this alleged "part-two" of my gift? What kind of elf are you, Killer? I'm replacing you with Will Ferrell. Hand it over."

Blaine looked at him with affection, touched by Sebastian's effort to please him. "I'll get it, but again it's not anything too thrilling." He ducked under the Christmas tree to retrieve it.

Sebastian he settled back down on the sofa and couldn't help but enjoy the view of Blaine's backside .

Blaine brought out a small gift that was again exquisitely wrapped. He tossed it in Sebastian's lap and said, "I'll be right back, let me get your coffee!"

Sebastian called after him, "Don't worry about the Courvoisier!" He was willing to sacrifice his shot to get caffeine into his veins as quickly as possible. He stood up again and shook his limbs to get his blood pumping, again feeling like it was Finals Week at Stanford.

Blaine came hurrying back with a bottle of Starbucks Frappuccino mocha. "Sorry, they had already put away the coffee pots - this is all I could find."

Sebastian took it from him. "Perfect – caffeine _and_ sugar," he said, drinking it down valiantly.

Blaine knew Sebastian hated sugary coffee drinks. He watched him with a tenderly sympathetic look on his face, feeling that Christmas shouldn't be so much effort for Sebastian.

Sebastian took up the small box again. "Okay, let me see what the one and only Blaine Anderson has gorgeously wrapped up this time." He unwrapped the package carefully and found a box containing a single homemade CD. He spoke first without thinking. "Killer, if you laid down all your best covers from the last couple of years in that recording studio at your school, I think might start fangirling right here in your parents' living room."

Blaine blushed, "No, that's not what it is."

Sebastian tried not to look disappointed. His mind jumped next to a mix CD – which would also be a sweet gift, if not as personal. Then he felt bad when realized that if it was a mix CD, he probably had already hurt Blaine's feelings.

Blaine explained earnestly, "I did make it in the recording studio at school, but they aren't covers. They are a collection of the best songs I've composed over the last few years. You've heard a few of them, but 9 of the 12 tracks are songs no one has ever heard (except the sound engineers at the RC, of course). I wanted you to be the first to hear them, because you are always pestering me to share more of my stuff with you. And because I know you'll be honest with me about if they're good or not, and how I might make them better."

The usually eloquent Sebastian Smythe was speechless for a minute and his jaw dropped open . He looked at Blaine incredulously. "Blaine, that is…perfection. Best gift I've ever gotten, hands down." He looked around the room. "Where is the CD player in here?"

"Oh no, I forgot, we don't have one!" Blaine said. "My dad went 100% Bluetooth/Ipad docking station to get rid of his CD collection and make room for his scotch and cigars."

"Well, we'll have to go out to one of the cars," Sebastian said, getting up.

"But we shouldn't leave the catering staff, in case they have a question," Blaine said worriedly.

Sebastian pointed to the piano. "How about I hear the live version of your favorite?"

Blaine nodded, looking slightly nervous. " Okay ."

Sebastian caught the look on his face and was surprised, because he knew that Blaine was never nervous before performing.

"Well my favorite is the first track. Maybe it will help you sometimes when you're feeling down about whether you'll reach all your ambitious goals, or if you're feeling lonely on your way to the top. It's a song about supporting someone you love." Blaine was too embarrassed to share that he had been thinking of Sebastian when he composed it:

_[author's note: to hear my favorite Darren song that Blaine wrote for Seb, go to YoutubeDOTcom/watch?v=HUquTr3Tcv0&list=PL9D80C21E9A98E001&index=3 - hope you love it as much as I do.]_

_I've been alone  
Surrounded by darkness  
I've seen how heartless  
The world can be_

_I've seen you crying_  
_You felt like it's hopeless_  
_I'll always do my best_  
_To make you see_

_Baby, you're not alone_  
_'Cause you're here with me_  
_And nothing's ever gonna bring us down_  
_'Cause nothing can keep me from lovin' you_  
_And you know it's true_  
_It don't matter what'll come to be_  
_Our love is all we need to make it through..._

Blaine looked up finally to look at Sebastian, who was sitting forward in his seat but listening with his eyes closed, his expression serious.

_Now I know it ain't easy  
But it ain't hard trying  
Everytime I see you smiling  
And I feel you so close to me...  
And you tell me:_

_Baby, you're not alone_  
_'Cause you're here with me_  
_And nothing's ever gonna bring us down_  
_'Cause nothing can keep me from lovin' you_  
_And you know it's true_  
_It don't matter what'll come to be_  
_Our love is all we need to make it through..._

_When Blaine looked again, Sebastian was looking at him and wearing the gentle, reassuring smile he used when he was trying to bolster Blaine._

_I still have trouble  
I trip and stumble  
Trying to make sense of things sometimes..._

_I look for reasons_  
_But I don't need 'em_  
_All I need is to look in your eyes_  
_And I realize..._

_Baby, I'm not alone_  
_'Cause you're here with me_  
_And nothing's ever gonna take us down_  
_'Cause nothing can keep me from lovin' you_  
_And you know it's true_  
_It don't matter what'll come to be_  
_Our love is all we need to make it through..._

_Oh, 'cause you're here with me_  
_And nothing's ever gonna bring us down_  
_Cause nothing, nothing, nothing_  
_Can keep me from lovin' you_  
_And you know it's true_  
_It don't matter what'll come to be_  
_You know our love is all we need_

_Our love is all we need_  
_To make it through.._

It took every bit of impulse control Sebastian had to not to walk over and kiss Blaine and profess his love for him right then and there. But Blaine looked so preoccupied with doubt about his music that Sebastian didn't dare.

Blaine turned from the keyboard, propped an elbow on the top of the piano and leaned his head against his hand. He looked at the reflection in the glossy lid for a few moments, needing a few more seconds before he dared to look up Sebastian and gauge his reaction.

_[author's note: a photo of Blaine at the piano after his first performance of 'Not Alone': imgurDOTcom/EWc8Pqt]_

Sebastian got up and put his hands on Blaine's shoulders. "You're going to still write me good letters when you're touring the world with all this, right?"

Blaine looked up eyes full of hope and fear. "You really liked it?"

"'Like' does not begin to describe how kick-ass I think that song is." Sebastian said, looking more sincere than Blaine had ever seen him. Then he teased, "You're lucky I am a prince of a guy, otherwise I would run off and take this to the first record label I could find and pass it all this off as mine," he said as he waved the CD in the air.

Blaine gave him a shaky grin.

"Mr. Blaine," a young woman called, peeking out from the swinging kitchen door. "We're leaving now. Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas, Ella!" Blaine called cheerfully, running over to give her a hug.

When she was gone, he turned to Sebastian. "Come on, now we can go get everyone!"

He chased upstairs, pulling an amused Sebastian by the hand. Blaine pounded with both fists on Cooper's door, shouting, "COOP! It's time!"

Cooper opened the door almost immediately, smiling widely, eyes sparkling. He shoved past them and headed down the hall past Blaine's room, Blaine hot on his heels and Sebastian striding more slowly behind them, chuckling.

Cooper and Blaine pounded on their parents' door, then burst in without waiting for an answer, calling "They're gone! It's time!" Sebastian waited politely at the door, peeking in to see Mrs. Anderson, now in a more comfortable looking dress, sitting in her rocking chair. Blaine jumped in his mother's lap and snatched away her Kindle. "It's time!" he declared again, kissing her cheek. She rubbed the back of his neck, her eyes shining. Blaine jumped up, taking her by the hand to follow Cooper, who had pulled his father up and was pushing him by the shoulders. Cooper said loudly, "Come on Pops, I know you aren't sick of the old Christmas Eve routine yet, in fact I think you're getting more sentimental with old age. Next thing we know you'll be writing 'Memoirs of a CEO Father.' Blaine glanced at Sebastian, knowing he was putting on a brave smile as he thought about his own father. To his delight, his mother squeezed Sebastian's arm as she passed him waiting politely by the door.

Blaine dropped behind her and he caught Sebastian's hand, giving it a squeeze before dragging him down the stairs. Sebastian cast off his despondence as watched Blaine, who was once again looking like a kid. He made Sebastian forget all of his cares when he looked like that.

When they reached the living room, Mrs. Anderson sat down at the piano and Cooper and Blaine stood behind her, looking impish. Sebastian sat down on the sofa despite Blaine's urging to join them at the piano. He was content to observe, being more comfortable being an onlooker to a happy family scene.

As Mrs. Anderson, Cooper and Blaine broke into a sweet rendition of "Joy to the World," Mr. Anderson opened the liquor cabinet and poured himself a scotch. Then he caught Sebastian's eye and asked quietly, "Would you like one? Glenfiddich."

"You have no idea how much," Sebastian said, taking it gratefully.

Mr. Anderson settled down on the sofa next to Sebastian.

Blaine almost skipped a verse. His father had not sat in a living room seat outside his armchair in 18 years. And he had most definitely had never, ever, offered any of Blaine's other friends a scotch.

Cooper grinned at his little brother and they moved on to "Christmas is Coming," and "Deck the Halls." Blaine sang a droll rendition of "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" as a solo. Mrs. Anderson sang solo on "Angels We Have Heard on High."

Before each song Blaine beckoned to Sebastian to join them but was waved off. Mr. Anderson and Sebastian seemed pleased to nurse their scotch and fondly watch the performance. They didn't say a word to each other; both were content instead to just sit in comfortable silence.

Blaine sat down to play accompaniment for Cooper, who sang "Go Tell It on the Mountain" with his mother, his arm around her waist.

Blaine turned the page for the next song, but then turned to the sofa, crooking his finger to summon Sebastian. "I refuse to keep playing unless you come and sing with us. Your voice is too good to not at least harmonize with us," he said sternly. "You were Captain of the Warblers, for goodness' sake!"

"Okay, okay, okay," Sebastian gave him a nod. He got up from the sofa to stand next to a beaming Cooper, who couldn't resist saying, "Once a Warbler, always a Warbler."

They sang "The Twelve Days of Christmas," "Adeste Fideles," and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" before Blaine looked up at Sebastian and asked, "Will you sing this one with me as a duet?"

Sebastian smiled. "Only if you play it on your guitar like you did yesterday with Tina and Sam." Blaine got the guitar from the media room and their voices blended together warmly:

youtubeDOTcom/watch?v=0k6fl8ps_DI

_Chestnuts roasting on an open fire  
Jack Frost nipping at your nose  
Yuletide carols being sung by a choir  
And folks dressed up like Eskimos_

_Everybody knows a turkey and some_  
_Mistletoe help to make the season bright_  
_Tiny tots with their eyes all aglow_  
_Will find it hard to sleep tonight_

_They know that Santa's on his way_  
_He's loaded lots of toys and goodies_  
_On his sleigh_  
_And every mother's_  
_Child is gonna spy to see if_  
_Reindeer really know how to fly_

_And so, I'm offering this_  
_Simple phrase to kids from_  
_One to ninety-two_  
_Altho' it's been said many times_  
_Many ways_  
_"Merry Christmas to you"_

Blaine put his guitar down and turned to a page in the Christmas song book, looking to Sebastian with hopeful eyes. "Will you sing this one as a solo, the way you said you did for the Mixed Company holiday concerts?"

Sebastian looked reluctant.

"Please?" Blaine beseeched, widening his eyes even more.

"But I'm used to an acapella arrangement, not piano."

"It won't matter, you're just making excuses. I really want to hear you sing this. PLEASE?" Blaine tugged on his sleeve and stuck out his lower lip.

Cooper said, "Come on Seb, spare us all of the painful Blaine-begging. You know you're going to give in in the end anyway, I've seen you with him before, you are no more immune to those puppy dog eyes than the rest of us." "

Sebastian opened his mouth to argue again, when Mrs. Anderson spoke up. "Please Sebastian, you do have a lovely voice - I would like to hear you solo on this one." And without another word, Mrs. Anderson nudged Blaine off the piano bench and began to play, the Anderson brothers singing backing vocals to Sebastian:

youtubeDOTcom/watch?v=SxO3MvfkKp4  
_Said the night wind to the little lamb,  
do you see what I see  
Way up in the sky, little lamb,  
do you see what I see  
A star, a star, dancing in the night  
With a tail as big as a kite  
With a tail as big as a kite_

_Said the little lamb to the shepherd boy,_  
_do you hear what I hear_  
_Ringing through the sky, shepherd boy,_  
_do you hear what I hear_  
_A song, a song, high above the trees_  
_With a voice as big as the sea_  
_With a voice as big as the sea_

Cooper was fondly watching Blaine's admiring eyes for Sebastian more than he was watching the performance.

_Said the shepherd boy to the mighty king,  
do you know what I know  
In your palace warm, mighty king,  
do you know what I know  
A Child, a Child shivers in the cold  
Let us bring Him silver and gold  
Let us bring Him silver and gold  
_

_Said the king to the people everywhere,  
listen to what I say  
Pray for peace, people everywhere!  
listen to what I say  
The Child, the Child, sleeping in the night  
He will bring us goodness and light  
He will bring us goodness and light_

When he had finished, the Andersons applauded. Then Mrs. Anderson stood up and said, "Let's take a break." Blaine took Sebastian's hand and led him over to the sofa, where Mrs. Anderson was settling herself next to Mr. Anderson. Blaine sat down at their feet, encouraging Sebastian to sit beside him. Cooper had disappeared to the study, to fetch the Christmas books.

"Sebastian, we've been enjoying having you with us," Mrs. Anderson said warmly.

"And I've enjoyed being here," Sebastian said politely. "I've appreciated seeing all the different elements of an Anderson Christmas."

_[author's note: to see Mrs. Anderson, see imgurDOTcom/4KqEElq]_

Mrs. Anderson replied kindly, "Well, I hope you don't consider yourself just an observer, we want you to be very much a part of it."

"That would be my privilege," Sebastian said with quiet respect.

Mr. Anderson gave a slight approving nod at this and Blaine's jaw dropped. Sebastian wasn't kidding when he said all parents loved him.

Mrs. Anderson smiled at both boys and said to Cooper, who had returned, "Did you say you wanted to do a different reading this year?"

"Yep," Cooper said. "The end of _The Gift of the Magi_ – the O. Henry story."

Blaine protested, "But you have to read about the Crachits' Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve!"

"Squirt, don't be such a fussy old lady."

"Don't call me that."

"I know you love O. Henry too, so what's wrong with changing it up?"

I don't want to change it up, it's tradition," Blaine said stubbornly.

Mr. Anderson was rolling his eyes. Mrs. Anderson said soothingly, "Boys…"

Sebastian spoke up. "Shall I read the Dickens?"

The whole family looked at him. "Of course!" Mrs. Anderson said. "Sebastian, that's the perfect solution."

Blaine looked at him with so much pride and joy that Sebastian thought about volunteering to read Oliver Twist as well.

The next part of the evening passed pleasantly, as they listened to each performer in turn:

Cooper read his piece more solemnly than Blaine or Sebastian expected:

_Instead of obeying, Jim tumbled down on the couch and put his hands under the back of his head and smiled._

_"Dell," said he, "let's put our Christmas presents away and keep 'em a while. They're too nice to use just at present. I sold the watch to get the money to buy your combs. And now suppose you put the chops on."_

_And here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house. But in a last word to the wise of these days let it be said that of all who give gifts these two were the wisest. O all who give and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. Everywhere they are wisest. They are the magi._

Sebastian read his Dickens less formally and with more earnest expression than expected, causing Blaine to look at him with starry eyes:

_At last the dinner was all done, the cloth was cleared, the hearth swept, and the fire made up. The compound in the jug being tasted, and considered perfect, apples and oranges were put upon the table, and a shovel-full of chestnuts on the fire. Then all the Cratchit family drew round the hearth, in what Bob Cratchit called a circle, meaning half a one; and at Bob Cratchit's elbow stood the family display of glass. Two tumblers, and a custard-cup without a handle._

_These held the hot stuff from the jug, however, as well as golden goblets would have done; and Bob served it out with beaming looks, while the chestnuts on the fire sputtered and cracked noisily. Then  
Bob proposed: 'A Merry Christmas to us all, my dears. God bless us!' Which all the family re-echoed._

_'God bless us every one!' said Tiny Tim, the last of all._

Blaine surprised no one with his charming and charismatic reading of the classic poem:

_He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,  
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself!  
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,  
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread._

_He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,_  
_And filled all the stockings, then turned with a jerk._  
_And laying his finger aside of his nose,_  
_And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose!_

_He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,_  
_And away they all flew like the down of a thistle._  
_But I heard him exclaim, 'ere he drove out of sight,_  
_"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!"_

After he finished, Blaine said to Sebastian, "And this is the best part of the night, because dad sings with us."

The group moved the the piano and Mrs. Anderson sat down to play with the four men in a semi circle behind her. They had saved for last the most tender of Christmas carols: "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing," "The First Noel," "Away in a Manger," "O Little Town of Bethlehem," and finally Mr. Anderson sang the lead on "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear."

youtubeDOTcom/watch?v=j8xiRbt6FOE

_It came upon the midnight clear,  
That glorious song of old,  
From angels bending near the earth  
To touch their harps of gold  
Peace on the earth, good will to men,  
From heaven's all gracious King  
The world in solemn stillness lay  
To hear the angels sing._

By the last few songs, Blaine's arm found its way around Sebastian's waist. Sebastian smiled down at him and quietly drew his arm behind Blaine, putting his hand at the small of Blaine's back.

After they sang the last note, Mr. Anderson said, "Merry Christmas! Now off to bed you go."

"We have to hang the stockings!" Cooper reminded him.

"Fine, fine…just hurry up with it, your mother is tired," Mr. Anderson said mildly.

Sebastian watched as Cooper and Blaine eagerly waited for their mother to pull the stockings from a nearby drawer and distribute them. They were all exactly the same, plush red velvet with white embroidering: "Father," "Mother," "Cooper," "Blaine"

…and "Sebastian." Sebastian raised his eyebrows in surprise when Mrs. Anderson handed it to him. "Well of course you have to have an Anderson Family stocking," she said. "How else will Santa know to leave your gifts here?"

Blaine could not have loved his mother more than at that moment.

"Thank you," Sebastian said, looking down at the red velvet and running his thumb over his embroidered name.

Once the stockings were hung they headed upstairs to bed, Mrs. Anderson saying "Merry Christmas" and kissing the cheek of each boy before they ducked into their room, including a once again surprised Sebastian.

Closing the door behind him, Sebastian leaned against it and exhaled. He could feel his energy level dropping quickly, so he rapidly changed into a t-shirt and pajama pants, brushed his teeth and washed his face. When he came back out to the bedroom he was indeed very tired, but part of him didn't want the evening to end. He sat down in the window seat and fixed his gaze upon a star. He thought of the Andersons, and of Rob's family, and what he knew of Nick's family and Jeff's family and David's family, Sam's family, Santana's family and even Kurt Hummels' family. He thought of the pieces of family he had strewn about, his grandmother, the unremarkable aunt and cousins in Dayton, his mother and his substandard father. He wondered what he had done to deserve both the neglect of a father like his and the care of the Andersons all in the same lifetime. He also wondered what his fate would ultimately be when it came to matters of family. All quarter, he had been solving intricate engineering and calculus problems and analyzing complex pieces of literature and historical essays – yet he still could not entirely get his mind around the unfolding puzzle of his life.

There was a soft knock at the door.

"Come in," Sebastian said. He turned to see Blaine in his Brooks Brothers pajamas, looking adorable and tentative.

"Hey Killer, I thought you'd be in bed by now."

"I could say the same for you," Blaine said smiling, coming over and taking him by the hand to pull him on his feet. "I just wanted to tuck you in. Rob's mom did it for you at Thanksgiving, but my mom didn't get the memo – so I'm pinch hitting."

Sebastian smiled at him. "I guess I am pretty tired."

"I bet," Blaine replied, pulling him towards the bed but then holding him at bay when he realized he hadn't pulled the covers back yet. Once he had yanked the bedding aside, he pushed at Sebastian's chest in the general direction of the bed until he fell backwards with a flop.

"Ugh…" Sebastian groaned. "Oh my god I didn't know I was this tired. Just turn out the light."

"You need to get under the covers for me to have officially tucked you in."

"It's okay, I'm good. Save youseff!" Sebastian slurred, his face now half-buried in the mattress.

"Okay, you're officially sleep-drunk."

"What?"

"Cooper and I realized a long time ago that when anyone reaches a certain level of exhaustion, there are two ways you go – you either (1) become sleep drunk, where you slur and ramble and act loopy until you collapse into sleep; or (2) become hyper-tired, where you act crazy and overactive until you pass out. Hypertired is what Cooper is right now, I can hear him playing video games next door."

" Okay…that was a lot of stuff you just said. "

Blaine chuckled. "Don't worry about it. I just need you to roll over towards me so you can get inside the sheet and under the comforter. Can you do that?"

"Huh?"

"Don't give up on me now. ROLL," Blaine chuckled as he did what he could to help Sebastian along. He had to wrestle to eventually get him on the right side of the sheet and covers. "Now scoot up so your head can be on the pillow and so your feet won't be hanging off the end of the bed."

Sebastian's face was buried in the mattress. "Iss Okay, Ayez good."

Blaine tickled his feet, causing him to move in the desired direction. "Aah! You're mean!" Sebastian moaned.

"I never said I would be as gentle as Rob's mom."

"Mean," Sebastian said, muffled by the pillow.

Blaine pulled the covers up and tucked them under his chin. Then he sat down next to him and touched his cheek lovingly. "There, you're all snug as a bug in a rug."

Sebastian was indeed in a kind of sleepy delirium. "Blaayine, why you so goouh tuh me? Yur whoole famly, they'rso niice t'me. I been s'mean to people and I'cum from a sucha mean dad…"

"Shh, shh…" Blaine shushed him and stroked his soft hair. "We're good to you because you deserve it. But it's not time for talking about all that, Seb." He glanced at the clock. "It's bedtime so we just say good night."

"G'night" Sebastian murmured into the pillow. "Mehwy Chustmaas."

Blaine kissed his cheek tenderly and stood up and headed to the door.

At the door he stopped to have one more look at the curled up form covered in the snowy duvet, a tousle of brown hair sticking out on top. He turned out the light. "Merry Christmas, Seb."

* * *

Well, Christmas arrived early this year, yes? Blaine has FINALLY recognized what we knew all along – he's in love with Seb! Now if only these boys could scrape up some guts…let's see what lies in the road ahead! In the meantime, enjoy this. I'm working on Christmas Day but it's slow going for some reason, so don't necessarily expect a new chapter in 2 days again…but it will be up as soon as we deem it worthy of your energy and time!

Thanks for all the kudos and reviews/comments…please keep them coming and as they are very helpful. Does Blaine still seem in character, Seb too? What was your favorite part? I know what your least favorite part was, of course…please don't tell Santa to leave a coal in my stocking for the Puckerman interruption :).


	9. OJ, Gifts, Sam's Art, and Richbastian

"MERRY CHRISTMAS!" Cooper and Blaine were standing and bouncing on Sebastian's bed.

"Oh my god…" Sebastian moaned, his eyes still screwed shut. He covered his head with a pillow, muffling his voice. "What the fuck?"

Blaine laughed, sitting down next to Sebastian and rubbing his back. "You're at my house. I'm Blaine. Blaine Anderson. It's Christmas morning and it's time to get up."

"Get up, get up, get up!" Cooper chirped, still bouncing on the other side of the bed. "It's time to go open presents, come on Sebby!"

"DO NOT CALL ME THAT. And get out." Sebastian growled from under the pillow.

Blaine looked up at his brother. "Coop, what the heck are you doing, jumping on the bed with a mug? You're going to spill everywhere. Give that to me."

"It's a travel mug, Blainey! You and mom's beautiful million thread count guest room sheets are safe. You have press this thingy on it to get any juice to come out!" He bounced some more.

"Come on, Seb," Blaine said in an encouraging tone, "Everyone's waiting for you downstairs…"

"ARGH...your parents are up, too?" Sebastian sat up, his hair standing on end. (_author's note: see our sleepy cutie at imgurDOTcom/pJqY1tC_)

Blaine looked at him sympathetically. "I know you're tired, I'm so sorry. It's just Cooper's gotten us all in the habit of waking up early on Christmas morning. Did you even go to sleep last night, Coop?" He looked up as his brother. "It was the first Christmas Eve in ages where you didn't bounce into my bed at midnight and crash with me." He turned back to Sebastian. "Anyway, we have been up for an hour, all of us, making breakfast."

Sebastian looked at the clock. It was 8:30AM. "This is one Anderson Christmas tradition I cannot get behind." He rubbed his eyes and glanced at Blaine, who was looking cute in his blue pajamas. "So we eat in our pajamas?"

"Yep, Dad and mom are looking cozy in their jammies and bathrobes and are waiting for you downstairs, Seb !" Cooper interjected, bouncing some more. "Come on man, there's breakfast strata and strawberry danish and hot cinnamon buns and Blainers did a Starbucks run and found the Courvoisier so your alcoholic's coffee is waiting downstairs! Get your butt up and join us…Dad doesn't even make us sit at the table, it's buffet style while we open presents! "COME ON, YOU GUYS!" Cooper leapt off the bed and the top came flying off the travel mug, surprising Cooper so much he accidentally doused Sebastian and the floor in front of him with cold orange juice.

"JESUS CHRIST, COOP!" Sebastian bellowed, shaking like a wet dog.

Coop was trying really hard not to laugh. "Eek, sorry man, let me go get a towel."

Blaine was already halfway to the bathroom. "I'll get one to clean him up, you get one from downstairs to clean up the floor. Mom will have your head if you use one of the good bath towels on the floor for that much juice." In the bathroom he grabbed a washcloth and wet it quickly, and grabbed a second dry one as well. He returned to Sebastian who was a pathetic, sticky picture of exhaustion – he was falling back asleep as he leaned back on his hands.

"Oh Seb, I'm so sorry…he's such an idiot. Here…" Blaine helped Sebastian take off his shirt and began to blush as, inch my inch, the sticky t-shirt revealed an up-close and personal view of the toned, muscular shoulders, arms and chest that Blaine had been fantasizing about at bedtime since the other day when he walked in on Sebastian in a towel.

Luckily Sebastian's eyes were still only half-open, so the blush went unnoticed. Blaine tried to sound natural. "Here's a washcloth, so you can…wipe…that…off."

Sebastian moved slowly to take the washcloth from him, rubbing an eye with one hand and clumsily swiping at himself with the balled up towel with the other hand.

It was just so pitiable. "Here, here, let me." Blaine said, chuckling. "You're so sad." Sebastian handed over the washcloth and leaned back on his hands, leaning his head back and closing his eyes. Blaine sat down, took the washcloth and folded it neatly again. He tenderly wiped the stickiness off of Sebastian's smooth skin, pressing gently against the firm muscles of his shoulders…and arms…and chest. _Oh_…he was starting to get mesmerized by the beauty spots again. Blaine was starting to feel…warm. He hurried to finish before his body did something even more embarrassing than blush.

Getting up quickly, Blaine tossed the dry washcloth at Sebastian and strained to speak evenly. "Here, dry yourself off," he said awkwardly, taking the two steps over to the dresser. "I'll get you another shirt."

Sebastian had fallen back on the bed and thrown an arm over his eyes.

Cooper was back. "Okey dokey," he said, wiping off the floor hastily. "Now hurry up. I want to open my presents! Aunt Martha's gift is a bizarre shape, though. Did you get the same thing, sort of a Y shaped thing? Do you think it's a sling shot? She went to Australia this year, maybe she…"

Sebastian had covered his head with a pillow again, muffling his voice. "Blaine, make him go away. I beg of you. I will buy you anything you want."

Blaine laughed, "It's alright Coop…the floor's clean enough. Seb's still not really awake, even after the juice wake-up call. I'll bring him down, just give me 5 minutes."

"Suit yourself!" Cooper cried as he slid across the hardwood floor in his socks. "I can't guarantee there will be any cinnamon buns left in 5 minutes!"

When it grew quiet, Sebastian grumbled from under the pillow, "Is he gone yet?"

Blaine looked over and blushed again when he glance landed on Sebastian's taut abs. "Y-Yes. It's safe to come out now." _How can a belly button be so sexy? Oh…stop thinking about where that treasure trail ends…oh my god I see his hip bones._

Sebastian took the pillow off of his face but then immediately threw his arm back over his eyes. He groused, "Have your parents ever thought about putting him on some kind of medication? "

"No," Blaine laughed . He opened the top dresser drawer to find Sebastian a t-shirt. "Christmas is the craziest he gets, I promise." The drawer had no t-shirts, just socks and…underwear. _Oh god, his underwear. _Blaine did NOT need to know that Sebastian wore really sexy looking Dolce & Gabbana boxer briefs. He did not need to imagine….

Blaine shook himself. He wasn't sure how long he had been standing there staring into the drawer. He shut it quickly, opened the next drawer, found a t-shirt and walked back over to the bed. But Sebastian had fallen back asleep, his arm still flung over his eyes.

Blaine sat down next to him, looking at Sebastian's beautiful face. He knew he should wake him, he knew his family was waiting downstairs for them. But Blaine couldn't move. It was all too much: seeing him this way in bed, hearing him breathe, close enough to touch...

"Well if you drool on him, that's one way to wake him up," Cooper smirked from the doorway.

Blaine blushed furiously and glared at his brother to shut him up. He took a breath and tapped Sebastian on the shoulder. "Seb, wake up – you fell back asleep. I'm so sorry, but you really should get up."

Sebastian jolted awake. "Huh?! Uh…oh." He sat bolt upright, swinging his long legs out of bed and planting them on the floor so he was sitting side-by-side with Blaine. It was time to dig in and be a good guest for the Andersons.

Blaine felt for him. "I'm so sorry Seb, I know you're so tired. Let's go down and get you your coffee." He tried to comfort him by rubbing his back, but quickly realized that touching Sebastian's…bare skin…was a bad idea just then. A very bad idea.

He jumped up. "Okay! Here's your t-shirt."

"Wouldn't want to forget that," grinned Cooper. Blaine glared at him as Sebastian pulled the t-shirt on slowly.

Once his shirt was back on, Blaine felt comfortable enough to go back to rubbing Sebastian's back soothingly. "Wearing our pajamas to open presents means after they're all open you can even go back to bed for a late morning nap. That's what my dad always does."

"Your dad is like my spirit animal."

The brothers led him downstairs where the family was gathered around the fireplace.

"Merry Christmas," Mrs. Anderson said gently, handing bleary-eyed Sebastian a plate filled with delicious looking breakfast foods.

He took the plate and stared at it for a second. "Merry Christmas," he replied as lucidly as he could as he sat down next to Blaine on the floor. Without a word, Mr. Anderson handed him his coffee and Sebastian thanked him silently.

Cooper had already distributed the gifts to each of them. 'GO!" he shouted, and they all started unwrapping gifts at once and it was a happy bedlam for at least 20 minutes.

Blaine was happy to see Sebastian's gifts went over well with his family. Mrs. Anderson pulled out a pair of Ralph Lauren house slippers. "Sebastian, these are wonderful!"

"I just noticed yours were getting a little frayed," Sebastian said in his straightforward way. She came over and kissed him on the top of his head and he gave her the small smile that he seemed to reserve only for her.

"Sebastian, thank you for the Glenmorangie," Mr. Anderson said with a grave nod. "I've read the flavor profile and quality of this one is quite rare."

"I haven't had it myself, but I read the same. Hope it suits - I wasn't sure if you had one," Sebastian remarked. "I noticed you have quite a collection already."

" You can never have enough good scotch ," Mr. Anderson said, as he folded up wrapping paper Cooper had strewn about.

Sebastian gave Blaine a triumphant look. Blaine rolled his eyes.

"Oooh, books!" Cooper squealed as he opened Sebastian's gift. "I haven't read a book in awhile!"

Mr. Anderson shook his head and Mrs. Anderson, Blaine and Sebastian stifled a collective laugh, their eyes twinkling at one another.

"Awesome, a great big beautiful book on Hollywood history illustrated with all these amazing photographs, and _Acting for Dummies_!" Cooper said, getting up to hug Sebastian from behind. "I love them both."

It was Mr. Anderson's turn to stifle a laugh.

Sebastian chuckled, "The second one is sort of a joke, Coop."

"Sort of," Blaine stage whispered, smirking.

Blaine received from his parents the Japanese, German, French, diamond editions of Disney's _Beauty and the Beast_ on Blu-Ray. He beamed as he looked them over. "Thank you so much you guys! Now I have almost all of Western European editions, and you've got me started on Asia."

"What is the deal with you and that movie?" asked Cooper. When I was playing Prince Charming at Disneyland last summer, Cinderella and I were the ones who got the biggest line-ups for autographs after the parades."

Blaine didn't hesitate to answer passionately. "Well for one, the music is amazing. But it's also got the most progressive and feminist heroine. Belle is not only part of the proletariat, but she was educating herself through reading. Plus, her love for the Beast unfolded so naturally, over several months – not overnight like so many of the other Disney stories. And the Beast started off kind of horrible, but you understood that he was paying penance for how terrible he was before, so you feel for him when he starts making an effort to behave better. And Belle is so lovely in helping him even though he makes mistakes along the way. They were two strangers who slowly became friends who learned to love each other, and then when he became a Prince it was effortless for them to romantically fall in love with each other at first sight."

Since Mr. and Mrs. Anderson were there and it was Christmas morning, Sebastian held back the bestiality jokes and looked over and saw Cooper was doing the same.

Cooper said flippantly, "Well, while you and Sebastian watch your French or Japanese princess movie, I will be enjoying the vintage burlesque videos Uncle Willy gave me."

"We aren't going to watch these!" Blaine chided, hugging the DVDs to his chest. "They lose almost all their value if you open the packaging."

Sebastian raised his eyebrows.

"Yep, he's one of those collectible crazies," Cooper said, cocking his head towards his keyed up brother.

"He's not crazy, he's just a little eccentric," Mrs. Anderson said, kissing the top of Blaine's head on her way back to the breakfast buffet.

In a few more minutes, the rest of the family had finished with all of their gifts, except Blaine, who had just one more to open. The family watched with interest as "the baby" shook it. "Hm, it's too heavy to be clothes, even though it's in a shirt box. And it's so beautifully wrapped that it can't be from Sebastian. He uses gift bags." Blaine said with a cheeky smile.

Sebastian winked at him and then leaned over to whisper in his ear. "That's only part one. You don't get to open part two until you get back to Scotland."

Blaine looked at him, smiling and wondering what would have to wait until he got back to the UK.

"This gift is also kind of for the whole family…and for me," Sebastian said mysteriously, leaning back on his hands as he sat cross-legged on the floor.

Blaine opened the box and found an elegant Gucci leather portfolio inside. "It's beautiful, Seb! I'm sure I'll use this when I interview at schools again this year, and for…"

Sebastian cut in gently. "That's not really the gift , it's just kind of part of the wrapping."

Blaine opened the portfolio and found a large light blue envelope marked, "How Do You Beat Home sickness?"

Blaine opened the envelope, looked through its contents for several seconds and then looked up in amazement. "They're three open-dated, first-class airline tickets from Edinburgh to Ohio, LA, and San Francisco."

Sebastian said with a smile, "For when you want to just go home for a long weekend and shake off the Brits for a few days. Or when you want Coop to mess up your hair, or when you want to go back to San Francisco and ride the streetcars again with me."

Blaine hugged him impulsively. "Aw, thanks Seb – you're the best!" Sebastian smiled and patted his arm.

Cooper, who was watching them keenly, could tell Sebastian felt slightly awkward about getting a big hug from Blaine in front of his parents. He moved things along by going up to the fireplace and announcing, "We forgot to see what Santa brought us!"

Each stocking was filled with chocolate, iTunes giftcards, slinky toys ("Santa always brings toys for everyone, no matter how old we get," Blaine explained;) and a few personalized stocking stuffers: colorful socks for Mr. Anderson ("That is the only place midwest CEOs are allowed to show flair," Cooper explained); cosmetics for Mrs. Anderson; ties for Cooper; a bowtie for Blaine; and Motley sunblock and other men's skincare products for Sebastian.

"Someone must have told Santa that I am in the California sun too much," Sebastian smirked, looking at Blaine.

"Well Santa is a smart guy, he must know that your beautiful skin won't stay beautiful on its own," Blaine replied sagely.

Sebastian rolled his eyes. "Okay, okay, I'll try this stuff. But I'm not using that scrub crap Hummel bought for you."

The family got up to help clean up and have seconds at breakfast. Sebastian excused himself to call his mother, walking over to stand by a window and look out on the snow while he spoke in French to her.

Blaine listened from an armchair not too far away, even though he didn't understand a word of French.

"You're swooning," Cooper said, walking up. "I know you have a French fetish."

"Shhh!" Blaine shushed him.

Cooper ignored this. "So last night, before we sang carols and stuff…did you and Sebastian…"

"No!" Blaine whispered urgently. "Be quiet! He's right there!"

Cooper was dismissive. "Oh, he's on the phone with his mom on Christmas day…even the most estranged mother-son relationship merits at least 5 minutes."

"Coop, just stop! I told you no, nothing happened before the Christmas Eve ritual."

"After I left you the entire 1st floor?!" Cooper was dismayed. "How about after the 'rents went to bed? Was there a slumber party? _That_ was why I didn't come into your room at midnight this year… I am _just_ that awesome of a big brother. "

Blaine blushed. "No, Coop, nothing happened! Now be quiet, he'll hear you. And leave me alone about this, it's none of your business."

"Blainers, if I didn't push you a bit, you never would have learned to ride a bicycle. I'm just here to help you two lovebirds along!"

"We don't need help. And we're not lovebirds!" Blaine protested.

"But you might be!" Cooper said, "I think I'll take advantage of the after-Christmas sales on mistletoe…"

"Coop, so help me…" Blaine threatened.

"Awww Squirt, you're so cute when you threaten me."

"Don't call me that!"

A few minutes later, Sebastian returned, only to have his phone buzz. He looked at it and a small smile crossed his face. "It's Rob. He says the family wanted him to send a video."

He opened it while Blaine, Cooper and Mrs. Anderson gathered around it (Mr. Anderson had already gone upstairs for his nap).

It was the entire Dean family, looking just as Sebastian remembered, shouting: "MERRY CHRISTMAS, SEBASTIAN! NEXT YEAR COME SPEND IT WITH US!" Rob swung the camera around so he could speak into it. "What can I say, man – you made an impression at Thanksgiving."

Blaine smiled broadly. "Awww, Seb! They are amazing. I'm so happy you have them in your life now."

Sebastian shook his head and said in an aside to Blaine, "Even the goddamned dog was in the video."

"They seem like a lovely family," Mrs. Anderson remarked. "I'm sure they will be very understanding when you have to break the news to them."

"Break what news?" Cooper asked.

"The news that any Christmas Sebastian doesn't spend in Paris will be spent with us," she said casually.

Sebastian would have welled up, if Sebastian Smythe ever welled up. As it were, he got something in both of his eyes and had to wink a little to get it out.

"When she says stuff like that, all you can do is to kiss her," Cooper said.

Blaine nodded. "Like this!" He grabbed his mother and kissed her on the cheek.

"And this!" Cooper planted a kiss on her other cheek.

Sebastian looked more abashed than Blaine had ever seen him. Mrs. Anderson came over and squeezed him by the shoulders and gave him a motherly peck on the cheek. "Or you let her kiss you," she said.

* * *

After breakfast was cleaned up, Sebastian went upstairs for a long nap. When he rose a few hours later, Cooper and Blaine were playing air hockey in the media room and Mr. and Mrs. Anderson were reading in the living room.

The doorbell rang as Sebastian was heading to the kitchen for a snack. "I'll get it," he called, beginning to feel very much part of the family.

He opened the door to Sam, who was bearing packages and grinning widely. "Ho ho ho! Merry Christmas, big guy!"

Sebastian smirked. "Is it really going to be Merry for you, Sam? Because remember…your time is coming. In fact, your time could be here!"

Sam laughed. "You wouldn't do anything to me on Christmas Day!"

Sebastian raised an eyebrow. "Well it was a holiday when you pulled your little stunt…"

"But it's CHRISTMAS," Sam laughed again. "There's no way you'd pull a prank on Christmas Day!" He paused. "Would you?"

Sebastian gave a sinister laugh.

"Sam!" Blaine came down the hallway. "Merry Christmas! I thought I heard you."

Sam was saying, "Dude, that is an awesome impression of Vincent Price! You gotta help me work on that one!"

Blaine said, "That's not an impression, that's actually just him." He scolded Sebastian, "Why are you laughing your evil laugh?"

Sebastian swung an arm across Blaine's shoulders and turned them back to walk to the media room. "Oh it's nothing. Sam and I are just having some fun! Or at least I'm having a little fun…" he said ominously, turning his head to smirk at Sam who walked behind them.

Sam rolled his eyes.

"Be nice!" Blaine admonished.

"Sammy!" Coop got up from his seat to give Sam a hug. "Seasons Greetings! What brings you by?"

"Just bearing gifts," Sam said, opening his backpack. Sebastian glanced at Blaine, who nodded before Sebastian ducked into the living room to grab their gifts for Sam out from under the tree.

When he returned, Cooper was oohing and aahing over the long-ago promised macaroni portrait of Blaine and Blaine was marveling at his gift, a drawing of Nightbird and the Blonde Chameleon (author's note: see imgurDOTcom/rZrg77p. Source: 25DOTmediaDOTtumblrDOTcom/90effac5d12ca6c48b051670e7b1cbe6/tumblr_mfd5ln5Wys1qjtg4to1_r1_1280DOTpng)

Sebastian looked at both over Blaine's shoulder. "Hey, Sam's pretty good at the comic book style…even if the tights don't reveal enough, Killer."

Blaine batted at him, "You are shameless! And what do you think of the macaroni art? He's so talented, isn't he? But don't I look so sad?"

Sebastian said just loud enough for Blaine to hear, "I don't know…it's technically pretty impressive, I guess. But the macaroni doesn't really…capture you."

"You're such a critic," Blaine said, shaking his head.

"What can I say, I'm particular about your face," Sebastian shrugged. Blaine chuckled.

"Hey Sam," Sebastian said, holding aloft a gift wrapped bundle that was obviously the stack of comic books he had promised Sam several weeks ago. "Of course these are for you, but you know what they are, which takes all the fun out of it…"

"Oh, Man! Seb you are so awesome!" Sam interrupted in excitement. But as he reached to take his gift, Sebastian used his long arm to lift the package above his head, too high for him to reach.

"Wait wait wait wait." Sebastian chided him like a teacher to a student. "Patience, child. So how can I make this more fun?"

Blaine and Cooper chuckled as Sam pouted and leapt in the air, trying to reach it.

"Repeat after me."

Sam stopped jumping and rolled his eyes.

"Eyerolling will get you nowhere, son." Sebastian said, shaking his head with a superior air. Blaine laughed, secretly loving it when Sebastian put on his snobby prep school airs.

Sam finally relented. "Okay, okay. What do you want?"

"Repeat after me. I, Samuel Bonehead Evans…"

"Dude!"

"Do you want them or not?"

Sam looked at the coveted thick stack of comic books and swallowed his pride. "I, Samuel Bonehead Evans…"

Sebastian grinned wickedly. "Do solemn swear,"

"Do solemn swear,"

"To never EVER again write a falsified text, email or social media post,"

"To never EVER again write a falsified text, email or social media post,"

"Or engage in any other dishonest, dishonorable, or otherwise disagreeable behavior,"

"Or engage in any other dishonest, dishonorable, or otherwise disagreeable behavior,"

"That will in any way harm, cheat, embarrass or disadvantage,"

"That will in any way harm, cheat, embarrass or disadvantage,"

"Sebastian Chase Smythe."

"Sebastian Chase Smythe."

"In the Name of the Father, the Son and Chapsticked Ghost"

"Really?" Sam groaned. "My grandmother's a Catholic, Seb!"

"And I'm the Devil, Sam. And you have sinned, so your ass is mine until you repent. Do you want the comics or not?"

Cooper chortled and even Blaine couldn't repress a smile.

"Come on, Seb!"

"I can sell them on ebay for more than I paid for them. Now let's not take all day with this. In the Name of the Father, the Son and Chapsticked Ghost"

"In the Name of the Father, the Son and Chapsticked Ghost."

"Amen."

"Amen."

Cooper did the slow clap. Sebastian finally handed over the comics. Sam hit him in the shoulder as he said, "FINALLY, I'm out of the dog house with you!"

Sebastian narrowed his eyes. "Who said anything about that? Of course you're still in the dog house with me. That was just what you needed to do to receive a gift from me while you are still in said dog house. No, there is still much great retribution to be paid. Your time is still coming, son."

Sam's eyes were wide and his mouth dropped open while the Anderson brothers laughed appreciatively.

"Don't worry Sammy," Coop said, throwing an arm around his shoulders, "We'll protect you from Big, Bad Seb."

"Yeah, good luck with that," Sebastian grinned, heading for the kitchen. "Who wants hot cider?"

When he returned, Sam handed Sebastian a flat package, atrociously wrapped. "Obviously the kids wrapped it," he chuckled. "Yesterday they wanted to come to deliver their gift in person, but today they have all their new toys so they told me I was 'allowed' to come without them."

Sebastian raised his eyebrows in surprise. "For me? Kids don't usually like me. My roommate Rob told me I scared his niece at Thanksgiving."

"Apparently you made quite an impression," Blaine said, smiling.

The gift was a large drawing of Paris, featuring the Arc d' Triomphe and the Champs d'Elysees, the Eiffel Tower, and the Place Vendôme. There were four figures in the foreground, One taller man with brown hair, one shorter man with yellow hair, and two figures who were obviously Stevie and Stacey.

"Hey, where am I?" Blaine pouted.

Sebastian let out a hearty chuckle. "When they were saying goodbye that night, I told them that if their parents are okay with it, that I'd pay for them to come visit me and see Paris for themselves this summer when their brother came backpacking through Europe. I guess I didn't mention that you and Sam are doing that together."

Cooper came over to look at the drawing and clapped a hand on each of Sebastian and Sam's shoulders. "Aw, you two make a sweet couple."

* * *

Just before he left for home, Sam pulled Sebastian aside and handed him a manila envelope. "Dude, I didn't want to give this to you in front of Blaine and Cooper, but here's my Christmas present for you."

Sebastian pulled out a beautiful pencil drawing of Blaine (author's note: see imgurDOTcom/eR1LKdQ, source: deviantartDOTcom/art/Darren-Criss-207522564).

Sebastian gave Sam a sharp look. "Why are you giving me a drawing of Blaine?"

Sam looked at him mildly. "Why do you think, Seb?"

Sebastian was looking carefully at the drawing, his eyes softening. "What are you trying to get at, Sam?" he asked slowly.

"Dude, I told you the other night that I know you skipped out on Christmas in Paris with your mom to be with Blaine. I didn't see you denying it."

Sebastian kept his eyes on the drawing as Sam continued. "I saw you in San Francisco with him, and I've seen how long the emails you write him are and the stuff in the care packages and I can hear the tone of your voice even from the other room when Skype him. And I figured out that at The Tavern when I was sitting with you before Santana came, you were probably pissed off because Kurt and Blaine were having coffee the next day. I'm not as dumb as I look. Plus I saw you at the baggage claim when we got here. Do I need to show you the video of you closing your eyes and smelling his hair?"

Sam thought Sebastian might get mad at the mention of baggage claim spying, but Sebastian didn't say anything. He just studied the planes of Blaine's face in the picture.

"I took this photo of him," Sam pulled up a photo of Blaine on his phone, "And drew from the photo."

Sebastian glanced at the photo on the phone and then turned back to the drawing.

Sam sounded nervous. "I probably got carried away with some of the lines. He kinda looks old with those lines on his neck, but I liked how the eyes and the hair turned out. I like his hair with less gel, so hope you're cool with me making him wear it like that."

Sebastian nodded, again not looking up.

"I wanted you to know I've appreciated all the comic books and stuff you've been sending, and that it's been cool getting to know you better this year, and that I appreciate how good you've been to Blaine - after the wedding, and especially lately with all the vocal chord stuff…"

"Sam." Sebastian interjected when Sam paused for breath. He was still studying the drawing.

"Yeah?"

Sebastian didn't look up. "I get it – and you've been more than good to Blaine, too."

Sam was surprised into silence.

"So _now_ you're out of the doghouse."

Sam pulled Sebastian into a big bear hug. "Aww...Merry Christmas, Seb."

"Merry Christmas, Sam."

* * *

The family spent part of the rest of the afternoon receiving other visitors: Tina, some of Mr. and Mrs. Anderson's friends, a few of Cooper's friends from high school. Otherwise, Cooper, Sebastian and Blaine hung out in the media room playing video games and half-watching old Christmas movies while they played board games and surfed the web on their tablets and phones. In between all the electronic stimulation they just talked by the fire with hot chocolate, popcorn and party leftovers. Mrs. Anderson checked in on them from time to time, once giving Cooper a questioning look after noticing Blaine snuggled up against Sebastian's arm while watching A Christmas Story. Cooper shrugged.

At about four o'clock and about halfway through _White Christmas,_ Blaine and Cooper had just manhandled a grouchy, sleepy Sebastian into a more comfortable looking position on the sofa, his head on a pillow in Blaine's lap again. Mrs. Anderson happened to be walking by the open door. After glancing inside she stopped just outside the door jamb, looking in. Blaine was looking down Sebastian's sleeping profile, smoothing his hair. She studied Blaine's face for a moment, her eyes soft. Cooper saw her open her mouth to speak, only to close it again.

"I love this movie. So romantic," she said finally, coming in to perch on the end of the sofa. Blaine's hand came out of Sebastian's hair quickly, but she pretended not to notice.

"Mmmhmm," Blaine agreed, choosing not look at her, instead looking at Bing Crosby's blue eyes. Cooper looked amused.

"Look at this sleeping giant," She said, standing up and leaning over to lightly pat Sebastian's cheek. "Sebastian dear, you should go upstairs and lay down, you'll be much more comfortable."

Sebastian eyes half-opened at the sound of her voice in his ear. "Mmm, okay." He slowly rose and stumbled through the door.

"How did you do that?" Blaine asked incredulously. "Coop and I had to practically wrestle him to just lay down, since he refused to go upstairs."

"Mother's touch," she said, smiling. She sat down next to Blaine. "Sebastian's been a lovely house guest, I'm glad you invited him. Even an Anderson Christmas is improved with a breath of fresh air. He is very easy to be with. Your brother seems to like him," she smiled at Cooper, "And he's even fared well with your father," she said with a smile.

Blaine warned, "Well, you know how dad is, he might be polite on the outside and think something else entirely different inside."

"You make your father sound deceptive," Mrs. Anderson demurred. "He's just hard for some people to read sometimes. I would have heard something by now from him if he had any problems with Sebastian."

"And you haven't heard anything bad from him? Oh good," Blaine said, letting out a sigh of relief. "I'm so glad he's finding Sebastian tolerable, I would have hated for Dad to be uncomfortable at Christmas."

Mrs. Anderson put her arm around Blaine. "I don't think your father just tolerates Sebastian. I think he genuinely likes him." She looked thoughtful for a moment as she pondered why. "Sebastian has beautiful manners, and your father appreciates that. He's very respectful, but he doesn't…try too hard. Your father is a very powerful man, and I know one of the things that can annoy him the most is when his employees try too hard and act like sycophants around him."

"That's true. And Sebastian definitely doesn't ever do that for other people, no matter how senior they might be to him," Blaine said.

"Yeah, Mom's right - I think Dad kind of digs him," Cooper said, throwing a few kernels of popcorn in the air and catching them in his mouth. "I mean, I couldn't believe he sat with Seb on the sofa last night and gave him a scotch!" Cooper said.

"Well, that could have been because he felt bad for him, since you told him about Seb's dad and all." Blaine said. "Which, by the way," he said, giving warning looks to both his mother and Cooper, "we can NEVER tell Seb about."

"Of course not," his mother and brother said in unison.

"So I still have to say," Blaine continued, "I'm a little worried about Christmas dinner tonight. It's the first night since we've been home that we're all sitting down to a real formal family dinner. I hope it won't be too awkward between Seb and dad. Our first night when we just all ate pizza around the kitchen island, Seb thought Dad was looking at him like he was going to murder him because he's gay and might be sleeping with me or something." Blaine blushed at his own words.

"That's just his natural countenance," Cooper said with a shrug.

"That's what I told him!" Blaine said. "Seb didn't seem too concerned about it. But I think he should be, you know how dad is."

"Oh, you have nothing to worry about," said Mrs. Anderson.

Blaine groaned. "Mom, do you remember Easter dinner with Kurt my sophomore year? Dad asking Kurt about the salary ranges for top paid actors on Broadway, what the average career length was and what the expected gross ticket sales were the previous season? Kurt wanted to slide under the table and dig a tunnel for home. Can you imagine him grilling Sebastian about business, an area he actually knows something about?"

Mrs. Anderson took Blaine's hand. "I think the questions for Kurt actually had more to do with you than anything else. Remember, you had just told him you wanted to pursue a Broadway performing career? You know how long it took for him to come around about Cooper becoming an actor. It was just a shock to his poor heart again when you decided you wanted to go into the theatre. But now he's very supportive of both of you…it just takes time for your father to adjust to things he doesn't know much about. So I don't think any of what worried you had anything to do with Kurt."

Coop chuckled. "I don't know Mom, I think it had a little bit to do with Kurt. He was wearing a hippo brooch, come on."

Blaine threw a pillow at him.

* * *

"So next semester a bunch of us are going to London together to audition for some West End shows," finished Blaine, before he had another forkful of pie.

Mrs. Anderson said, "That will be splendid for you, London is a wonderful city." She smiled at Sebastian. "I met Mr. Anderson in London."

Cooper grinned. "I love that story. She was in the chorus of a West End show and Dad was at Barclays. They met at a Christmas party. The best part is he had heard she was dating someone else at the time but he didn't care - just about a minute after she walked into that party he came right up to her, took her by the hand, and got her to dance with him – she didn't even know his name yet!"

Blaine chuckled, "But she refused to date him because she was still in love with the other guy. But Dad was persistent…it took him a couple of years, but he got her in the end! "

Mr. Anderson drank from his wine glass and shook his head at his sons. "I'm sure Sebastian is not interested in all these details, boys." He served himself a piece of Christmas cake and changed the subject. "Sebastian, tell us what you've been doing at Stanford. What are you studying?"

Blaine suddenly looked anxious, awaiting his father's nitpicky questions and not-so-subtle judgments.

"I'm double majoring in electrical engineering and economics. I took two classes for engineering last quarter, but I haven't started in economics yet – just took a couple of general education courses."

"History and literature," Blaine said, in a nervous attempt to help.

"A double major at Stanford will be a tough road," Mr. Anderson commented.

Blaine looked anxious but Sebastian looked unperturbed. "It's been a challenge, but part of that was my own doing. Most of my classmates take three classes, not four per quarter. I just wanted to make sure I can still graduate in four years with a double major. So I wanted to save the quarters where I can take just three classes for when I'm taking on the really hard upper division work.

"That sounds quite sensible," Mrs. Anderson said, glancing at her husband to see if he was going to stop.

"And how did you fare?" Mr. Anderson asked, sipping more of his wine. Now even Cooper raised an eyebrow. His father had never asked for a report card from Kurt or any of girls he had dated.

If Sebastian was annoyed or disturbed by the line of inquiry, he didn't show it. He answered smoothly, "As it turns out, taking four courses during the first quarter of my freshman year, when I didn't really have a lay of the land yet, was not the best idea. But I've pulled off A's and B's. Hopefully next quarter I'll fare better since I was able to get insider information on different courses and professors from some of upperclassmen in some of the clubs I've joined. I also think I took on too much last quarter, so I'll probably be dropping competitive fencing and just go in to fence for fun and exercise on my own."

"And what made you pick those majors?" Mr. Anderson inquired. Now Blaine looked annoyed.

Sebastian was calm. "I'm trying to prepare for a Silicon Valley business career. I'm studying engineering because I figure if I don't have some idea what my engineers are doing, I won't get very far. I've read it's the engineers at Google who have all the power."

"And why electrical engineering, and not a computer science?" Mr. Anderson asked. Blaine wanted to groan.

Sebastian swallowed a piece of his cake and replied easily. "I'll take some courses in CS, and they'll count towards the major. But I thought it would be important to understand hardware as well, to have a broader perspective. Plus CS is a Bachelor of Arts, not a Bachelor of Science degree. I think the structured problem solving skills I will get from an engineering major will help in business. As for economics, it was the same idea – understanding the broader context of industries and business. Plus, you can't even major in business at Stanford."

"I see," Mr. Anderson nodded. Blaine exhaled and tried to think of what subject to turn to next.

"Stanford's has some good resources, being in the Silicon Valley," Sebastian continued, sipping from his coffee. "There's an undergraduate business club that hosts a lot of events featuring Silicon Valley investors, start ups, corporate executives, that sort of thing. Next quarter I'm thinking of joining a team to enter an entrepreneurship case competition that's judged by some Apple and Google execs."

Blaine stared at him, wondering why he wasn't satisfied to leave well enough alone.

Mr. Anderson raised his eyebrows with interest. "I dabbled in entrepreneurship when I was first starting out - when I was in business school at Northwestern. Those case competitions can be intense."

Blaine looked completely amazed at the direction of the conversation. Cooper gave him a smug smile as he drank his tea.

"Yes," said Sebastian. "The way they set up this one is that we have only a set number of hours, and we get access to the internet browsers, but no email except to our 'lifelines' – three or four people we can call or email to get advice on how to present our solutions to the case."

"Well, I don't have Silicon Valley experience, but if you need general business strategy help, get my cell number from Blaine." Blaine's eyes looked like saucers. "Oh, and I can get you my 'secret' email address - the one my secretary doesn't manage."

"You have a secret email address?!" Blaine almost shouted.

"I didn't know that, either." Even Cooper was a bit thrown.

"Well you boys can just call your father," Mrs. Anderson explained.

"I would definitely appreciate that," Sebastian said to Mr. Anderson. "On a related note, I actually have been wanting to ask your advice, I know you did i-banking out of college, instead of management consulting. Do you have any regrets about that? I mean I know learning valuation and understanding financials would be a solid way to start out my training, but I like the exposure to the guts of a business and the leadership experience I might get in consulting. At the same time, given the nature of the Valley, maybe there is something to be said for just jumping in to work at a start-up right away?"

As Sebastian and Mr. Anderson launched into a discussion about Sebastian's post-college career options, Cooper, Blaine, and Mrs. Anderson got up to clear the table. As they entered the kitchen, Cooper teased, "Close your mouth, Blainey. The flies might come in."

"How did he? What did…? How?" Blaine spluttered. "He_ offered_ his cell number to him! And a secret email address!"

"Well Sebastian does share your father's interest in business," Mrs. Anderson said, rinsing the plates. "Your father mentors a few young managers and analysts in his company. I think he enjoys helping young people who are just getting started in the business world. He still remembers what it was like for him."

"Yeah, and it's not like Blainey or I have ever been at all interested in business stuff," Cooper remarked as he rummaged in a cabinet looking for the cake dome.

"Well that's true," Blaine said scooping leftover pie into Tupperware. Then his head jerked up. "Oh no…what if that's all they have to talk about? Dad never likes to talk about business for too long at home." He hastened toward the kitchen door, cake server still in hand. "I better help out if they are in awkward silence mode."

Cooper and Mrs. Anderson followed him, but they found the dining room empty. And they heard the sound of music coming from the living room.

Their three heads one above the other, they looked around the door jamb and saw Mr. Anderson in his arm chair with his feet up on the ottoman, and Sebastian sprawled on the sofa. Each of them had a lit cigar in one hand and a glass of scotch in the other. They were listening to a Wynton Marsalis Christmas CD, and not speaking - at all.

Blaine was speechless with amazement and happiness.

Mrs. Anderson laughed quietly. "See? You had nothing to worry about."

"Oh yes he does," smirked Cooper. "He should worry that Dad's going to trade him in for Sebastian."

Blaine smeared pie on his brother's face.

* * *

So we (Super Beta Readers Dori, Thomas and I) hope you enjoyed a very merry Seblaine Christmas! I'll have you know that the entire chapter was written and edited, all ready to go yesterday when we realized that no one had gone shirtless. Criminal. So we added the first bit, because...we give the people what you want (you know who you are)! For those of you who were offended by our blatant objectification of poor, innocent, sleepy Sebastian - well I'm sure Grant Gustin appreciates you standing up for his dignity. However, we also know you are lying. And given how much Grant instagrams himself shirtless, we also don't think he'd object to this chapter!

Seriously, hope you guys liked our foray into almost pure fluff in this chapter and in the last one. We appreciate you humoring us. We are just a group of writers that enjoys Christmas and are a little tired of every Christmas story being pure angst. So we went the hybrid, poor Seb's angst and some romancing under the Town Tree, and then pure Anderson family loveliness (with a little bit of Rob's family thrown in there). We really thought Seb deserved it.

But what did you think? Please review and let us know if you thought it was too much fluff, if the Andersons feel real or if they are too Ward and June Cleaver, if the Sebam scenes were too silly, if the Sebam feels worked (we tinkered with that a lot), if the opening of this chapter was too much, etc. etc.

Anything not make sense? Do we need to get Cooper shirtless next? Suggestions, comments, etc. are welcome, or just a "Hi, I'm reading!" note would be great. We love hearing from you. We'll be back soon!


	10. Clues, 'Tana's Advice, & a Walk in Snow

Welcome back to College!Seblaine and a world where Blaine finally realizes he's been in love with Sebastian. Thanks for all the great notes/reviews in the last chapter, with bonus points for Chapter 9 reviewers (Kelly and Old Man River) who picked up on the parallels between Seblaine and Mr. and Mrs. Anderson's meet-cute story, as well as the parallels between Seblaine and Beauty and the Beast!

Anyway, this chapter has some Seblaine fluff for Blaine´s mama; some serious Blaine feels (like his equivalent of Stop the Wedding´s Runaway With Me chapter); Auntie 'Tana is back to slap Sebastian around a bit; and Seblaine go for a walk in the woods.

An easier way to see all the pics is to go to the archive of our own copy of this fic.

* * *

The days between Christmas and New Year's passed happily, though not quite living up to Blaine's promises to not overschedule. In the early mornings they exercised, meeting up with Sam, Mike, Jake, Ryder or various Warblers for a run, time at the gym, at the fencing studio or in the boxing ring (Blaine taught their friends while Sebastian teased about Dalton Fight Club).

The late mornings were spent with practical concerns: Sebastian's annual review of Grandmother Fondeur's finances with her accountant; running errands for Mrs. Anderson; shopping with Santana or Tina with Christmas gift cards or exchanging Christmas gifts at the mall.

On one of the days they helped Mrs. Anderson clean out the attic. She heard them coming up the stairs towards her.

"Just give those to me, Seb. You have no idea what to do with 409."

"It's for polishing any old shoes we find up there, right?" Sebastian smirked, handing the bottle and paper towels over.

"You know, you think that whole spoiled rich boy thing is cute, but it's really just obnoxious."

"You love it," Sebastian said, poking at him.

"Ah! Not while I'm carrying chemicals!"

"Well then give the chemicals back to me!"

"No!"

"See, you don't want to ruin your image of sophisticated Sebastian Smythe!"

"No, I just don't trust you with this!"

"I'm very trustworthy! Give it to me!"

They came tripping up the stairs, one of Sebastian's arms around Blaine's waist as he tried to take the bottle with his other hand.

Mrs. Anderson listened to them thoughtfully, then turned to laugh at them as they stumbled into the room, "Be careful boys, I don't want you falling down the stairs. You are both performers, your audiences count on your good looks staying intact."

Sebastian dropped down beside her to look at the photo album she had open in her lap. "And what do we have here? Mini-Coop in a Top Gun bomber jacket… And Cooper swimming with Mr. Anderson. Wow, Mr. Anderson was …"

"Please don't call my dad hot."

"I was just going to say he was an Izod guy. But yeah, he was hot!" Sebastian laughed.

"Stop," Blaine groaned.

Sebastian grinned. "Look at these shirtless beach pictures, Blaine. I mean _objectively_ speaking…"

"STOP!" Blaine covered his ears. Mrs. Anderson laughed.

Sebastian yielded with a chuckle, flipping a page. "Ah, there he is. I see the gelling started young."

"He had just gotten out of the bath," said Mrs. Anderson with a smile. "So no, that's not gel." She flipped a few pages. "But this is where the gel began, he insisted on it every day starting at around age four," Mrs. Anderson said. "And the bowties – he saw them on Dick Van Dyke in a musical and never looked back."

Blaine shrugged, "I had a sense of my signature style very young."

Sebastian flipped backwards again the in album. "Please tell me there are Blaine baby photos in here…oh yes, there he is, in his birthday suit glory!" He whispered in Blaine's ear, "Baby got back even in the infant days! Your parents even recognized the family jewel early on with this picture."

_[author's note: check out a portrait of Seb's favorite part of Baby Blaine at imgurDOTcom/z0ogAj9]_

Blaine smacked him upside the head. He turned to ask his mom, "Can you put these away?!" His mother shut the book. "LATER," she whispered loudly to Sebastian.

Blaine laughed. "Well maybe it's only fair. Grandmother Fondeur showed me pictures of baby Sebastian yesterday while Sebastian was meeting with her accountant. He was so blond as a baby! Almost as blond as Jeff! " He pouted. "But Grandmother Fondeur didn't show me any naked baby pictures!"

Sebastian laughed, "Oh don't feel so bad, B – those were very tasteful. So tasteful I may have to instagram them…"

Blaine lunged for him. "You wouldn't…"

Mrs. Anderson intervened, laughing. "Okay boys, I actually did need your help. Now those boxes over there can go down to my car for Goodwill. And those boxes on that side are for the garbage or recycling."

Blaine and Sebastian nodded and got up. Sebastian picked up the first two boxes but then yelped,"Shit!" He fumbled the boxes, almost dropping them..

Blaine and Mrs. Anderson looked up in alarm and Blaine grabbed the boxes from him.

"Be careful, Blaine!" Sebastian warned, "There's a nail or an industrial staple or something sticking out of that bottom one." He started sucking on this finger.

Blaine put the boxes down and pulled Sebastian's finger out of his mouth, "Don't do that, you might infect it. Are you okay?" The hazel eyes were wide with concern as he examined the torn and bleeding flesh. "Ooh, you really ripped into your finger." He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket. Here, wrap it tightly in this while I get the first aid kit." Blaine dashed for the stairs.

Mrs. Anderson came over to wrap Sebastian's finger more tightly. "I'm sorry, Sebastian – those boxes are so old, I didn't remember us stapling them shut. I'm sure it was Blaine's father, he always liked that staple gun…"

"It's okay," said Sebastian. He added quietly, "I'm sorry for swearing."

"It's fine, dear. And you don't need to be using your company manners so much with me," she winked at him.

Sebastian gave her his small smile. "My grandmother pounded it into me."

"Good for her."

They heard Blaine hurrying up the stairs. Mrs. Anderson held her hand out for the first aid kit, but Blaine said, "It's okay Mom, I got it." He turned to Sebastian. "How is it? Let me see. Does it hurt a lot?"

"I'm fine," Sebastian chuckled. "Except that I can't get over the fact that you carry a pocket handkerchief, Grandpa."

"You'd be bleeding all over your overpriced Burberry jeans if not for my pocket handkerchief, so don't mock them," Blaine chided as he unwrapped the finger.

"That's true," Sebastian said melodramatically. "And now you can bring my heart's blood back to Scotland with you,"

Blaine said, blushed. "Hush, so I can concentrate. You don't have to impress your Lit professor anymore."

Mrs. Anderson noticed the blush. She went back to sorting through her box, but out of the corner of her eye she watched Blaine care for Sebastian's wound. He sponged it with the warm washcloth tenderly, glancing up only to smile into Sebastian's eyes when he was teased about something. When he was about to apply antiseptic, his hand went up almost automatically to soothingly smooth the back of Sebastian's neck when he knew it would sting. He wrapped the finger a few too many times in gauze before Sebastian made him unwrap some of it, and taped it up neatly with his skillful fingers.

Mrs. Anderson smiled to herself. First, he was playing with sleeping Sebastian's hair on Christmas Day. Now this - two clues in three days.

* * *

_"We come to love not by finding a perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly."_

- Sam Keen

Lunch and early afternoons were highly social: they visited Grandmother Fondeur again; they picked up Sam and the three of them caught up more with Nick at the diner he and Sebastian used to frequent while at Dalton; they had lunch with Mike at Breadstix followed by a fierce game of Lasertag with the Warblers; they split off one afternoon so Tina and Blaine could lunch alone while Sebastian and Santana took hot sandwiches on a walk around the lake.

Sebastian insisted that late afternoons, at least for him, were a no-schedule zone. So late afternoons started each day with a movie matinee at home. Of course a few minutes into the movie each day Sebastian began nodding off, which was followed by Blaine trying to get Sebastian to go upstairs and Sebastian's head ultimately ending up on the small pillow in Blaine's lap. Cooper wasn't there to help, so after two days of fighting with him Blaine just gave up and worked out a system where he: (1) grabbed the pillow when he saw Sebastian's head starting to bob; (2) poked Sebastian violently until he fell onto the couch like a tree a falling in the woods; and (3) tickled him until he crawled grumbling up the sofa and onto the pillow in Blaine's lap. By day three Blaine could read his Kindle with one hand while tickling Sebastian with the other, all while inching up the couch with Sebastian and keeping the pillow balanced perfectly on his lap.

Every afternoon Mrs. Anderson came by to see Blaine running his fingers through Sebastian's hair as he watched the television or read, glancing down to study Sebastian's profile from time to time. One day she saw him run a finger across Sebastian's cheek, and another day he fell asleep himself, hand on Sebastian's shoulder – clue number three.

When Sebastian awoke they got ready for their evening engagements. Video games at Mike's house, karaoke and board games at Nick's. One night Nick, Jeff and David came over for poker and singing around the piano. Another evening Marley, Ryder, Tina, Kitty, Artie, Sam, Stevie and Stacey came over to make cupcakes and watch MGM musicals at Sebastian's insistence.

When Mrs. Anderson came down to refill her teacup, Sebastian had just survived a messy flour war with Ryder, Kitty, Blaine and Sam and was licking the frosting out of the bowl. "What kind of big brother are you, Sam? How have you never shown a single Gene Kelly movie to these kids? They need to be trained in the classics. It will help them stand out in a sea of kids who think Angry Birds is art. They have to watch American in Paris before they come see me next summer."

"Whatever, dude. And I gotta say, even though Nick says you pass for straight – I don't believe it anymore."

Sebastian hurled the spatula at him, square in the abs.

Blaine laughed. "He's right though, Sam. If you want to encourage them to enjoy the arts the way you do, they are at the right age. The older they get, the less interested they're going to be in your opinions. Right now you are so intent on making sure they don't break your guitar, it kind of takes some of the fun out their experience of music." He pointed at the kids across the room, dancing along with Kitty to Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor on TV. "Check them out! Stacey has some grace to her movements." Then he teased," and Stevie totally has rhythm! How is he your brother?"

Mrs. Anderson took her time with her teacup as she watched Blaine. As he spoke, he gingerly dusted flour off of Sebastian's shoulders; brushed more of it delicately off the back of his neck; and, in spite of Sebastian trying to batting him away, carefully swept flour out of his hair. She left as stealthily as she could – clue number four.

On the fourth afternoon after Christmas, Mrs. Anderson came by the media room and coaxed Sebastian to go upstairs for his nap. He was especially groggy that day, after a run around the lake in the cold and a big lunch. She took him by the hand and led him all the way upstairs and into his room, tucking him into bed.

When she returned downstairs she saw through the archway that Blaine was staring out the window at the snow and not even pretending to watch "It's a Wonderful Life."

She went quietly to the kitchen and returned in a few minutes with a magazine, cookies, cheese and crackers, and a pot of tea. She paused in the doorway, saying, "Mind if I join you by the fire here?

"Of course I don't mind, mom." Blaine answered, glancing at her with a half smile.

She pretended to read for a few minutes, but then made no bones about looking up to study his profile. She knew he could see her out of the corner of his eye.

Her "baby" seemed to be changing daily before her eyes. He was using less gel in his hair than he had in high school, and it looked curlier than usual after the very informal lunch he'd had, which undoubtedly included roughhousing with Sam, Nick and Sebastian. His late afternoon stubble also made him look even older to her. All of this seemed to be in keeping with the slightly less formal way he seemed to be carrying himself since he had returned home.

But more than any of that, the look in Blaine's eyes reflected a new maturity. Gone was the naïve, wide-open look of years past. In its place was an expression reflecting a depth of feeling she had never seen before.

[_author's note: see what Mrs. Anderson saw at imgurDOTcom/ac8JCXw]_

They heard the movie's most romantic lines:

_'What is it you want, Mary? What do you want? You want the moon? Just say the word and I'll throw a lasso around it and pull it down. Hey. That's a pretty good idea. I'll give you the moon, Mary.'_

'_I'll take it. Then what?'_

_'Well, then you can swallow it, and it'll all dissolve, see... and the moonbeams would shoot out of your fingers and your toes and the ends of your hair... '_

She said quietly, "You're in love with him, aren't you?"

Blaine turned around and looked gravely at his mother. "I think so," he said quietly. He sighed. "Is it that obvious?"

"No, I had to look carefully," she said. "You are so affectionate with everyone that I don't think any of your other friends probably notice - except maybe Tina."

"Yeah, she already kind of knows – she asked me at lunch right after I got back if I had feelings for him and I admitted that had some, but that I'm not sure how Seb feels about me. Coop and I had the same conversation." Blaine sighed. "But that was before Christmas. When I went to pick him up on Christmas Eve, we were standing next to the Christmas tree in the town square and it hit me like a ton of bricks. It was like that line from that song, "Love came and hit me in the eye; flash, bam, alacazam; out of the orange colored sky."

He dropped down on the couch and put his head in his mother's lap. "I looked over at him, and all of sudden I was never so sure of anything in my whole life – I love him. I thought to myself, 'I don't just have a few romantic feelings for him. I don't just want to be a friend who takes care of him - I want to be the one who gets to love him the most. I want to give him all the love that he deserves, and I want him to love me with all his heart.'"

Mrs. Anderson looked at him tenderly. "You do sound very certain."

"I wasn't at first. As quickly as the next day, I was second-guessing the feelings I was having. I thought maybe I was just admiring him for being so brave about Christmas Eve and his dad, or that I was just feeling romantic because it was Christmas and he was getting on so well with all of you…but here I am, it's been five days and I still haven't stopped loving him this way. I can't stop thinking about it, if anything I keep finding more reasons to love him."

Mrs. Anderson's eyes welled up. "So why do you look so serious, dear?"

Blaine fumbled for words. "Because I'm...overwhelmed. It's so intense…not at all like it was with Kurt. When I first fell in love with Kurt, it was soft, romantic, pleasant…It's so different with Seb…it feels fun and romantic, but in a more thrilling and passionate and all-consuming way."

Mrs. Anderson said gently, "Well that makes sense. They are very different young men; and love is different as you mature. I 'm sure the overwhelming feeling will pass."

"But I'm not just overwhelmed. I'm...scared. My feelings for Seb are so strong, they feel so much deeper. When I told Kurt I liked him, he had already told me he liked me, so there was no scariness. What if Seb doesn't feel the same way? And even if he does, what if it doesn't work out? With Kurt I was so naive when we started out - I just assumed everything was going to be fine. Now I know it might not be, and if I had to be without Seb I know it would feel like a million times worse and I don't know how I could bear it..."

Mrs. Anderson smoothed his hair as he continued. "He's the most extraordinary person I've ever met. I feel so differently about him than I did about Kurt. When we were together I always kind of thought Kurt walked on water. Honestly, I still have trouble coming up with what Kurt's flaws are.

"But with Sebastian, I know he has flaws - he can be impatient, even touchy, grouchy - but I know where they come from and they just remind me of why I love and admire him. They remind me of what he's working through and how far he's come. They are a part of him, so I love them."

Blaine's eyes shone. "He's the bravest and strongest person I know. He keeps going after every disappointment from his family, after every mistake he's made. He's not afraid to go after new challenges like Stanford. He's not afraid to be honest with people, or to do what he thinks is right, even if other people won't like him for it. It's really inspiring."

Mrs. Anderson said, "You know he sounds like your father when he was younger. Ambitious, sometimes hot headed, passionate...yet low-key at the same time."

"So you understand! So many people who don't know Sebastian don't see his amazing qualities. Like he has such a big heart, mom - he just doesn't wear it on his sleeve." Blaine smiled broadly. "Except with his grandmother, he's like a different person with her! He's affectionate and appreciative and takes care of her. He really values family, even though she's like all he's got who's worthy of him." He sat up and looked guilty. "I know I should be more sympathetic of his parents but I just can't be right now."

His mother nodded but didn't speak, not wanting to sidetrack him.

"He loves his friends so much, too. Santana told me he sends random gift cards to her when he thinks she might be low on cash, making flimsy excuses about why he's doing it. He drove an hour in the middle of the night when David got stranded without a car with a designated driver at some party. He sends Sam comic books by the box and I'm pretty sure he lied about his frequent flier miles expiring so that he could pay for Sam's airfare home for Christmas.

"And Mom," Blaine's eyes were soft. "He's so good to me. He…" he searched for words. "...sees me. He knows exactly how I'm feeling from the tone of my voice or a look on my face. He's always encouraging, but he never tries to change me."

Blaine sat forward and stared at the lit fireplace. "Whenever I'm down, I can always go to him to feel supported…and protected…safe. Yet his support doesn't feel like a crutch. I always walk away feeling stronger and better. And he usually makes me laugh," he chuckled. "Especially when I need to remember to laugh at myself. At the same time he's like my biggest fan - he accepts all of my flaws, too. Like he's so patient when I get to babbling like I am now," Blaine smiled. "He's the most attentive listener - he makes me feel like I'm the center of his universe when he's listening to me."

Blaine stood up and looked out the window. "Actually, he makes me feel like I'm the center of his universe anytime I'm with him. He's always anticipating what I might need or want. And he always, always tries to put me first - like when he pushed me to go to Scotland even though he would have loved it if I had gone to a program in San Francisco.

He turned to his mother again. "And it's also the little things - if I'm cold, he'll insist that he's not and give me his jacket even though he's shivering. And he never misses a Skype call – sometimes he'll call me with one shoe off in the locker room the minute our call is supposed to start if he's running late. He never forgets anything he says he'll do for me. I know I can count on him, always. He makes me feel like... a priority."

Mrs. Anderson was touched by the lilt in his voice.

Blaine sat down and looked at his mother with shining eyes. "And you know what's just as amazing? He lets me in and shares his life with me. He shares his innermost thoughts and insecurities and dreams. He tells me when he's not feeling sure about himself or his future, and about his messed up parents and his sad childhood…and he lets me take care of him. He's not too proud to let me in. He's actually much more sensitive than people would guess, he's just very discerning about who he shares his feelings with. I feel so special that he trusts all of that with me."

Then he flopped backwards on the sofa, staring at the ceiling. "We're best friends mom, but I want more – he's so beautiful, I can't help but want to be even closer to him. But what kind of relationship could we have 5000 miles apart? That's further than what Kurt and I dealt with. It would be so horrible if I gave my heart completely to him and we failed at making it work. I don't want to imagine having to be distant to him, and worrying about what would he would do without me.

"Plus, I wanted to take this year off to find myself, to not have a boyfriend. And Sebastian should be free to do with college freshmen do - he should be having fun, going to parties…" He swallowed. "dating other people. The timing doesn't seem right. At the same time, I couldn't stop loving him if I tried, and I can't stand the idea of him dating anyone else."

Blaine sat up and shook his head. "I'm getting ahead of myself. For all I know if he doesn't even feel the same way. He hasn't given me any clues, really."

His mother gave him a warm smile. "He does seem very fond of you, darling. He wanted to see your baby pictures, and the way he looks at you sometimes…"

"You sound like Cooper and Sam," Blaine said, standing up and pacing. "Sebastian definitely cares about me – I'm his best friend for sure. But sometimes I think he just thinks of me as his cute little friend, not as boyfriend material." He stopped next to the fireplace. "I'm so scared to ask. But I have to find out how he feels or it's going to eat me up inside…isn't it?"

She nodded, giving him a sympathetic smile.

Blaine paused for several moments. "Does Cooper ever have entire conversations with you by himself?"

"Every week," she smiled.

* * *

Sebastian picked up his mobile phone during a break in Lasertag. "You rang, Princess?" he said languidly.

"That would be Queen to you. I have to pick up the cake for my cousin's Quinceañera tomorrow - come with me and we can pretend to be engaged and sample wedding cake."

"How very ghetto of you – good god you must be bored."

"Oh come on, you should be flattered I'm inviting you because you're the best liar I know. Kurt was jealous that I´m inviting you because he loves cake more than most people love their families. I told him no one would ever buy that he and I are engaged."

"Kurt is jealous of me for many reasons," Sebastian smirked.

"You are such a bastard – one of these days I´m going to dump you for him."

And fight over him with Berry? Hate to break it to you, but you´re stuck with me as your token gay companion."

"Lord help me. So can you come or what?"

"Nope. Blaine's dragging me off to Jeff's sleigh ride thing with the Warblers and some of your public school buddies."

"What? How come I wasn't invited?"

"Maybe because I believe the Warblers refer to you as "the scary-New-Directions-cheerleader-chick" who hurts people with your words."

"And you would be...America's Sweetheart?"

"Hey, I turned over a new leaf, remember?"

"Please, that leaf shriveled up and died ages ago. Then your old leaves grew right back."

"Bitch!"

"Whore!"

Sebastian laughed. "We'll catch up later then, 'Tana. Or I'll text you to keep my fingers from snapping off out in the cold."

"Fine. Where are you guys going, anyway?"

"I don't know, I just show up on the driveway when Blaine RSVPs for us for stuff and he carts me off. Somewhere in the woods, I guess."

"Blaine RSVPs for you? Aww…so where are you two registering for china, again?"

"Ha…ha…ha. Cue the laugh track. You are oh so hilarious, Yeasty." Sebastian rolled his eyes.

"Oh come on, I heard you two were pretty adorable throwing flour at each other at Blaine's house the other night..."

"What the hell, are you McKinley nerds just constantly in a Google hangout, gossiping?"

"It's called talking to your friends. You should try it sometime. But don't avoid the subject. When I heard about the flour flirting I wanted the update. Does this mean you finally bumped uglies with lil B?"

"None of your business, Santana." Sebastian looked annoyed.

"Ooh. Testy – that equals blueballs for Smythe. ´Cause if you HAD bedded Blainers, I´d be able to HEAR you smirking right now. Did he turn you down?"

Sebastian's voice had heat now. "No, he did not turn me down. And I'm done with your Lima-Heights-style hagging about in my business. I'm hanging up now."

"Wait wait wait… come now, let your Auntie 'Tana help out here. So you haven't gotten on that dreamboat acapella mouth? What's stopping you? Oh, are you trying to be all rom-com gushy for the Disney Prince and kiss him at New Year's Eve midnight tomorrow at Mike's?"

Sebastian shot back at her. "SANTANA! May I remind you that YOU were the one who said that he 'needs time to heal?'"

"I said that at Halloween, Twink. It's almost been four months now since the near-wedding. And Blaine told you last week he's not mooning for Kurt anymore - I can't believe you didn't nail him the second he finished that sentence! And you are sleeping under the same roof right now - talk about easy access!"

Sebastian took a deep breath and calmed himself. "Stop it, 'Tana - seriously." He screwed his eyes shut. "It's not clear he's ready. We said he'd need a year to be on his own two feet, remember?"

"Who's we?"

"You, me, Sam, Nick, everyone - don't you remember?"

[author's note: see Sebastian unnerved on the phone at imgurDOTcom/WFcgpTI]

"I don't think anyone designated a timeline, Seb. Maybe you did in your head. And it's not clear if he's ready, getting your mack on with him is a good way to find out! And even if he's not ready, it will give him a taste of the Smooth Criminal so he knows what's waiting for him when he IS ready…"

Sebastian never thought he would see the day where he drew a parallel between the advice of his grandmother and that of Santana Lopez.

"Tana, Blaine does not just 'get his mack on' with people. Blaine is a guy who wants roses and all that stuff before he jumps into bed with someone. And I don't think he's kissed a single person since Hummel. Which would make me the rebound guy if I kiss him tonight. I am not going to be the fucking rebound guy."

"God Seb, you are so technical about this! No wonder you're going to be a scientist!"

"I'm not going to be a scientist. I am not even majoring in science. Seriously, think about college, San – it could help you actually understand what the hell I'm saying when I talk to you."

"Whatever. Just because you would be the first person to kiss him after Kurt does not automatically make you the rebound guy! The rebound guy is a faceless loser who happens to be in front of you a week or a month after your breakup. You either date that loser or just sleep with them and they go on their idiotic way in a day or a month or two. You, my friend, could never be that guy to Blaine. You're not strangers. So once you find your cajones and get those preppy lips in gear, you two idiots will either start dating and sexing like bunnies or you will get awkward but eventually go back to being friends."

"Or we will get awkward and never talk to each other again." He continued with a voice dripping in sarcasm. "But that´s okay, because I would still have your gold medal friendship." He rubbed his forehead, "So NO I'm not going to do anything until I'm sure the timing is right. I'm going to be damned sure I´m not still in cuddly eunuch territory."

"And how the hell are going to be so SURE you´re not in eunuch territory? You spent a week in a HOTEL ROOM in San Francisco with him and you didn't know, you've been home with him for a week in like, the next bedroom over, and you still don't know. The only way you're going to know if he thinks of you as a eunuch or a sex god is if you just friggin' kiss him and see if he slaps you or if he rips your clothes off. You should do it on that sleigh ride thing or at New Year's."

Sebastian snapped, "Snix, keep your beak out of this. I'm going to do whatever the hell I please whenever the hell I please."

Santana retorted, "What are you waiting for, a sign from God? You've been waiting for this for what, two years? This is it. This is IT. He's available. Kurt's fading away." She grew quieter but her tone was just as urgent. "What are you afraid of? Are you afraid of getting everything you've wanted?"

Sebastian was silent.

Finally, he spoke. "Look, 'Tana. I know you must be bored or whatever with your snoozefest of a New York relationship, but trying to shove me into one is not the solution. And all this bitching at me is not going to force my hand."

Santana laughed slyly. "I BET you can't wait to force your hand, baby!"

"And now I'm_ actually _hanging up on you."

"Okay okay, just think about what Auntie 'Tana said…"

"Goodbye, Santana."

"See you tomorrow night, Twink."

* * *

"Hurry up, Seb – we don't want to be late."

"I think this sleigh ride idea is insane," grumbled Sebastian as he wound his scarf around his neck in the front hall. "Unless you're skiing or snowboarding or doing something else athletic, being outside in the snow is idiotic. I hate being cold."

"You've been out to the lake in the snow since we've been back," said Blaine argued.

"On Christmas Eve it was to numb myself from the fact that I share DNA with my father; with Santana it was because I had had a hot pastrami from Delaney's. They don't make pastrami right in California and hot pastrami tastes better when you're outside for some reason. Plus Santana said if I didn't come with her she'd post an unseemly picture of me from Halloween on Instagram. I swear that is the only reason why I deal with her anymore."

"Oh come on," Blaine said. "It's an amazing idea, we'll get to see horses with sleighbells! And we'll all have to sing to keep warm…we haven't sung enough during this vacation so far. And there's been so much snow lately, there are actual drifts, and it's going to be sunny – we can make snowmen and snow angels!"

"Lying down in the snow…yes, this excursion just keeps sounding more and more delightful," Sebastian said, rolling his eyes.

"Ok, Captain Sarcasmo. You can stay home, then." Blaine pouted.

Sebastian relented. He could never stand when Blaine looked like that. He propped his chin on Blaine's head and softened his expression at their reflection in the hall mirror. "Okay, okay, okay…I´m sorry, Killer. Of course if you really want to go, I'll freeze my butt off and go…" He smiled at him. "If only to make sure you don't get lost in a snowdrift." He grabbed his down coat off the coat hook and covered Blaine with it.

"Argh! You're ruining my hair!" came Blaine's muffled shout as he struggled out from under the big coat.

"I'm just getting you ready for the snowdrifts!" Sebastian laughed wickedly.

Blaine threw the coat at him. "You are impossible," he said, fixing his hair in the mirror. Now put that on, we have to go! I don't want those horses to leave without us."

"We PayPaled Jeff our share of the rental so they'd better not leave without us," Sebastian said as he slipped his coat on and they ran out the door.

They pulled up to the designated meeting place, a local elementary school at the edge of town with a large parking lot. The lot however, was empty. Blaine said, "Where is everyone? I thought we were late."

Sebastian looked up from his phone. "Huh. Are we sure we're in the right place?" He opened up his Facebook app to find the event. " Leibfried Elementary, is that what this is?"

"That's what the sign said," Blaine said, puzzled. He took the phone from Sebastian. "Let me see the map on that, is it possible there is more than one Leibfried Elementary?"

"No way," Sebastian said, frowning.

"Oh shoot," Blaine said, noticing the time on the event. "We're here too early. We're supposed to be here at 1:30, not 1:00 – I must have put it in my calendar wrong."

"What?" Sebastian mocked, "Blaine Anderson, Social Secretary Extraordinaire, got a detail wrong?"

Blaine shoved at him. "Oh well, I guess we just wait, no point in going home, by the time we got there, it would be time to leave again." He looked out the window. "It really is so pretty when we have so much snow…it doesn't happen very often." He turned to Sebastian, who was looking out his window. "Let's go for a walk, come on."

Sebastian groaned, then tried a different tactic - he stuck out his lower lip and widened his green eyes. "But it's nice and warm in here," he pouted. "Don't make me come out any sooner than I have to."

Blaine chuckled and got out of the car. He opened the passenger door. " Oh please, you´re trying that? I INVENTED that. He extended his hand. "Walk with me – this will be a lovely memory when you're in California sweating bullets."

Sebastian shook his head but took Blaine's hand and climbed out of the car. He could never refuse Blaine Anderson's outstretched hand.

They walked on a path behind the elementary school grounds, briskly at first to warm up their blood. The sun shone down warmly and the sky was brilliantly blue. The trees loomed above them. The dark branches made little shelves for the snow and huge drifts had been pushed along the sides of a path in the woods behind the school. For once, they didn´t banter at all - Sebastian was too cold and Blaine was too awed by the beauty around them. And it wasn't long before the romantic setting made them both feel suddenly shy.

Bolstered by the talk with his mother the day prior, Blaine joined their gloved hands.

[author's note: see imgurDOTcom/sR8yaMP]

Sebastian looked at him and smiled as Blaine began to sing in his smoothest crooner´s voice:

_[youtubeDOTcom/watch?v=EUpx9YXKUEI]_

_Sleigh bells ring, are you listening?  
In the lane, snow is glistening  
A beautiful sight, we're happy tonight  
Walking in a winter wonderland  
_  
[Sebastian joined in]  
_Gone away is the Bluebird  
Here to stay is a new bird  
He sings a love song while we stroll along  
Walking in a winter wonderland  
_  
_In the meadow we can build a snowman  
We'll pretend that he is Parson Brown  
He'll say, "Are you married?" We'll say, "No man"  
But you can do the job when you're in town_

_Later on, we'll conspire  
As we dream by the fire  
To face unafraid  
The plans that we've made  
Walking in a winter wonderland_

Sebastian laughed when they finished. "That is seriously one of the cheesiest Christmas carols."

Blaine smiled at him, swinging their hands. "Aw, you love it. It´s one of the most romantic Christmas carols! Getting married at Christmas time, dreaming by the fire? You were singing with feeling, Sebastian Smythe you can't deny it. You are way more romantic than you let on..."

Sebastian didn´t say anything, choosing instead to run ahead on the path. "I'm also a great actor! Come on B, catch me if you can!"

Blaine scampered through the snow after him and slid on the path before crashing into Sebastian, laughing. Then he stopped suddenly. "Seb, look! A cardinal!"

Sebastian looked up just in time to see a flash of red take flight amongst snowy branches. "Okay, that was worth the price of admission."

"See! I told you you´d have fun," Blaine said triumphantly.

Sebastian shook his head. "Well this is us running around - and that cardinal was badass. What we are about to embark on is being shoehorned into an uncomfortable box on runners and freezing our asses off while Trent tells us about his favorite recipe for peppermint bark."

Blaine laughed. "We should turn around, it´s probably almost time for everyone to arrive. Race you back!" He bolted to get a headstart.

Sebastian ran at a moderate pace behind him, only to sprint forward as they approached the elementary school, throwing his arms around Blaine´s waist to catch him.

Blaine laughed, turning around to face Sebastian. His cheeks were like roses and his hair curled underneath his cap.

Sebastian didn´t let go. He didn't take his arms from around Blaine's tiny waist because...well there was no other explanation except that he suddenly really, really wanted to kiss Blaine.

But Blaine was too busy laughing to notice. He scrambled away, yelling "Look, there are the swings!"

Sebastian caught up with him on the school playground, amused at the sight of Blaine pumping his legs to get higher as he swung.

Sebastian sat down on the swing next to him, twisting around on it.

"Aw, poor Seb, too tall to swing," Blaine stuck out his lower lip as he looked down at him in the trajectory of his swinging.

Sebastian got up and turned himself around to lay his chest and abs down on the swing. "When I was a kid, I used to love to swing like this and pretend I was Superman. Of course the recess teachers said it was against the rules."

Blaine chuckled, "And I suppose that never stopped you."

"Of course not," Sebastian smiled, his knees scraping against the ground before he got up – it was just too uncomfortable for a 6'2" person bundled up in an overcoat. He sat down again on the swing again, this time sitting the other direction so he could see Blaine better, his long legs extended forward.

There was a comfortable silence, the only sounds were Blaine swinging through the air and the sound of the chains on Sebastian´s swing twisting.

Blaine´s swing slowed as he stopped pumping his legs. He said wistfully, "Sometimes I wish I was still a kid. It seems like things were so much simpler back then."

Sebastian looked thoughtful. "They were and they weren´t, I think. I find nostalgia amusing - people block out all the crap of ´yesteryear.´ When we were younger, the world seemed just as complex I think, because we didn´t know how much more complicated things were going to get. Figuring out how to sidestep a bully at recess and answering stupid reading comprehension questions back then was just as annoying as juggling college admissions or figuring out what sides of the issues you are on to vote intelligently."

"True," Blaine said, staring at the snow covered playground slide. "But there were longer stretches of play to shake off any stresses."

"You clearly didn´t have to do extra math workbooks after school with Grandmother Fondeur."

"Oh, my mom made me do extra stuff, too. But I don´t think things were just simpler in terms of our problems. Our mindset was simpler. We were more trusting, optimistic - less jaded."

Sebastian looked at Blaine, concerned about the tone of his voice.

But Blaine was brightening as he looked around the playground. "You know what though? The best antidote to feeling jaded is to spend time with kids. That´s why I love hanging out with Stevie and Stacey. Maybe that´s why Sam always has such a good attitude. And when I have my own kids some day. I´ll get to relive childhood through their eyes."

Sebastian stood up and started to push Blaine lightly on the swing. He spoke thoughtfully. "I used to think I didn´t want kids. Babies might be cute and all, but they are also kind of disgusting - fluids everywhere. And the rest of it just sounds exhausting: keeping them from doing stupid things, tantrums, soccer practices..."

"Oh I don't think all of that is as bad when it´s your kid, I think."

Sebastian came around to the front of Blaine and reached an arm across Blaine to grab both chains and stop the swing. "That´s what I´ve heard. I´ve also heard kids learn most by your example - so I feel for any offspring of mine." He didn´t move away, instead he slid his hands up the chain and hung on them, leaning down to smile softly and look at Blaine fondly.

Blaine didn´t get up. Instead he looked up into Sebastian´s eyes with affection. "I think you´d be a great dad. You were great with Stacey and Stevie. Plus you would have help." Blaine started to blush slightly as he realized just how much closer Sebastian had gotten. He seemed to be sliding his hands down the chains of the swing, bit by bit, bringing his face closer and closer to Blaine. "You´d have a partner." Blaine said softly, feeling like he was swimming in Sebastian's green eyes.

Their breath made steam in the cold air. Sebastian´s voice was low and he looked seriously into Blaine's eyes. "Yeah I guess..." he looked down. "It could be okay..." he looked back up with the same serious gaze. "Even good…" he inched lower down the swing chains. "With..." Blaine could see their breath intermingle. "The right…" he felt chills down his spine, "person."

"Right." Blaine breathed. "With...the right...person."

"SEBASTIAN! BLAINE!" Stacey and Stevie came running up, with Sam several yards behind them.

Sebastian let go of the swing quickly and turned around to Stacey slamming into him to hug his legs. Blaine jumped up from the swing and hugged Stevie.

"Hey guys," Sam said, walking up. "Keepin´ warm?"

"You could say that," Sebastian said wryly, as he lifted Stacey onto a swing.

* * *

Again, we love hearing from you, so please keep your feedback coming, no matter how small – curious which are your favorite lines, characters, which platonic ships are your favorites, etc. They each have their own flavor. Thomas loves Seb and Coop, Sebam is a favorite all around, there's lots of love for Sebtana, Dori I think loves them all and I think there is a new fanbase (Kelly, for Seb and Mr. Anderson (Richbastian)…have fun with us and drop a review or a PM!

Also loving the suggestions, though I can't guarantee they will all make it in this story. They could however, come in part three of the trilogy (Stop the Wedding being part 1, this one being part two) ' but no promises. But we are considering all ideas so keep them coming! I will say that Faye, your wish is coming true.


	11. New Year's Eve - Best Laid Plans

Welcome back to College!Seblaine and a world where Blaine finally realizes he's been in love with Sebastian. Thanks for all the great notes/reviews in the last chapter, with bonus points for Chapter 9 reviewers (Kelly and Old Man River) who picked up on the parallels between Seblaine and Mr. and Mrs. Anderson's meet-cute story, as well as the parallels between Seblaine and Beauty and the Beast!

Anyway, this chapter has some Seblaine fluff for Blaine´s mama; some serious Blaine feels (like his equivalent of Stop the Wedding´s Runaway With Me chapter); Auntie 'Tana is back to slap Sebastian around a bit; and Seblaine go for a walk in the woods.

An easier way to see all the pics is to go to the archive of our own copy of this fic.

* * *

The days between Christmas and New Year's passed happily, though not quite living up to Blaine's promises to not overschedule. In the early mornings they exercised, meeting up with Sam, Mike, Jake, Ryder or various Warblers for a run, time at the gym, at the fencing studio or in the boxing ring (Blaine taught their friends while Sebastian teased about Dalton Fight Club).

The late mornings were spent with practical concerns: Sebastian's annual review of Grandmother Fondeur's finances with her accountant; running errands for Mrs. Anderson; shopping with Santana or Tina with Christmas gift cards or exchanging Christmas gifts at the mall.

On one of the days they helped Mrs. Anderson clean out the attic. She heard them coming up the stairs towards her.

"Just give those to me, Seb. You have no idea what to do with 409."

"It's for polishing any old shoes we find up there, right?" Sebastian smirked, handing the bottle and paper towels over.

"You know, you think that whole spoiled rich boy thing is cute, but it's really just obnoxious."

"You love it," Sebastian said, poking at him.

"Ah! Not while I'm carrying chemicals!"

"Well then give the chemicals back to me!"

"No!"

"See, you don't want to ruin your image of sophisticated Sebastian Smythe!"

"No, I just don't trust you with this!"

"I'm very trustworthy! Give it to me!"

They came tripping up the stairs, one of Sebastian's arms around Blaine's waist as he tried to take the bottle with his other hand.

Mrs. Anderson listened to them thoughtfully, then turned to laugh at them as they stumbled into the room, "Be careful boys, I don't want you falling down the stairs. You are both performers, your audiences count on your good looks staying intact."

Sebastian dropped down beside her to look at the photo album she had open in her lap. "And what do we have here? Mini-Coop in a Top Gun bomber jacket… And Cooper swimming with Mr. Anderson. Wow, Mr. Anderson was …"

"Please don't call my dad hot."

"I was just going to say he was an Izod guy. But yeah, he was hot!" Sebastian laughed.

"Stop," Blaine groaned.

Sebastian grinned. "Look at these shirtless beach pictures, Blaine. I mean _objectively_ speaking…"

"STOP!" Blaine covered his ears. Mrs. Anderson laughed.

Sebastian yielded with a chuckle, flipping a page. "Ah, there he is. I see the gelling started young."

"He had just gotten out of the bath," said Mrs. Anderson with a smile. "So no, that's not gel." She flipped a few pages. "But this is where the gel began, he insisted on it every day starting at around age four," Mrs. Anderson said. "And the bowties – he saw them on Dick Van Dyke in a musical and never looked back."

Blaine shrugged, "I had a sense of my signature style very young."

Sebastian flipped backwards again the in album. "Please tell me there are Blaine baby photos in here…oh yes, there he is, in his birthday suit glory!" He whispered in Blaine's ear, "Baby got back even in the infant days! Your parents even recognized the family jewel early on with this picture."

_[author's note: check out a portrait of Seb's favorite part of Baby Blaine at imgurDOTcom/z0ogAj9]_

Blaine smacked him upside the head. He turned to ask his mom, "Can you put these away?!" His mother shut the book. "LATER," she whispered loudly to Sebastian.

Blaine laughed. "Well maybe it's only fair. Grandmother Fondeur showed me pictures of baby Sebastian yesterday while Sebastian was meeting with her accountant. He was so blond as a baby! Almost as blond as Jeff! " He pouted. "But Grandmother Fondeur didn't show me any naked baby pictures!"

Sebastian laughed, "Oh don't feel so bad, B – those were very tasteful. So tasteful I may have to instagram them…"

Blaine lunged for him. "You wouldn't…"

Mrs. Anderson intervened, laughing. "Okay boys, I actually did need your help. Now those boxes over there can go down to my car for Goodwill. And those boxes on that side are for the garbage or recycling."

Blaine and Sebastian nodded and got up. Sebastian picked up the first two boxes but then yelped,"Shit!" He fumbled the boxes, almost dropping them..

Blaine and Mrs. Anderson looked up in alarm and Blaine grabbed the boxes from him.

"Be careful, Blaine!" Sebastian warned, "There's a nail or an industrial staple or something sticking out of that bottom one." He started sucking on this finger.

Blaine put the boxes down and pulled Sebastian's finger out of his mouth, "Don't do that, you might infect it. Are you okay?" The hazel eyes were wide with concern as he examined the torn and bleeding flesh. "Ooh, you really ripped into your finger." He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket. Here, wrap it tightly in this while I get the first aid kit." Blaine dashed for the stairs.

Mrs. Anderson came over to wrap Sebastian's finger more tightly. "I'm sorry, Sebastian – those boxes are so old, I didn't remember us stapling them shut. I'm sure it was Blaine's father, he always liked that staple gun…"

"It's okay," said Sebastian. He added quietly, "I'm sorry for swearing."

"It's fine, dear. And you don't need to be using your company manners so much with me," she winked at him.

Sebastian gave her his small smile. "My grandmother pounded it into me."

"Good for her."

They heard Blaine hurrying up the stairs. Mrs. Anderson held her hand out for the first aid kit, but Blaine said, "It's okay Mom, I got it." He turned to Sebastian. "How is it? Let me see. Does it hurt a lot?"

"I'm fine," Sebastian chuckled. "Except that I can't get over the fact that you carry a pocket handkerchief, Grandpa."

"You'd be bleeding all over your overpriced Burberry jeans if not for my pocket handkerchief, so don't mock them," Blaine chided as he unwrapped the finger.

"That's true," Sebastian said melodramatically. "And now you can bring my heart's blood back to Scotland with you,"

Blaine said, blushed. "Hush, so I can concentrate. You don't have to impress your Lit professor anymore."

Mrs. Anderson noticed the blush. She went back to sorting through her box, but out of the corner of her eye she watched Blaine care for Sebastian's wound. He sponged it with the warm washcloth tenderly, glancing up only to smile into Sebastian's eyes when he was teased about something. When he was about to apply antiseptic, his hand went up almost automatically to soothingly smooth the back of Sebastian's neck when he knew it would sting. He wrapped the finger a few too many times in gauze before Sebastian made him unwrap some of it, and taped it up neatly with his skillful fingers.

Mrs. Anderson smiled to herself. First, he was playing with sleeping Sebastian's hair on Christmas Day. Now this - two clues in three days.

* * *

_"We come to love not by finding a perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly."_

- Sam Keen

Lunch and early afternoons were highly social: they visited Grandmother Fondeur again; they picked up Sam and the three of them caught up more with Nick at the diner he and Sebastian used to frequent while at Dalton; they had lunch with Mike at Breadstix followed by a fierce game of Lasertag with the Warblers; they split off one afternoon so Tina and Blaine could lunch alone while Sebastian and Santana took hot sandwiches on a walk around the lake.

Sebastian insisted that late afternoons, at least for him, were a no-schedule zone. So late afternoons started each day with a movie matinee at home. Of course a few minutes into the movie each day Sebastian began nodding off, which was followed by Blaine trying to get Sebastian to go upstairs and Sebastian's head ultimately ending up on the small pillow in Blaine's lap. Cooper wasn't there to help, so after two days of fighting with him Blaine just gave up and worked out a system where he: (1) grabbed the pillow when he saw Sebastian's head starting to bob; (2) poked Sebastian violently until he fell onto the couch like a tree a falling in the woods; and (3) tickled him until he crawled grumbling up the sofa and onto the pillow in Blaine's lap. By day three Blaine could read his Kindle with one hand while tickling Sebastian with the other, all while inching up the couch with Sebastian and keeping the pillow balanced perfectly on his lap.

Every afternoon Mrs. Anderson came by to see Blaine running his fingers through Sebastian's hair as he watched the television or read, glancing down to study Sebastian's profile from time to time. One day she saw him run a finger across Sebastian's cheek, and another day he fell asleep himself, hand on Sebastian's shoulder – clue number three.

When Sebastian awoke they got ready for their evening engagements. Video games at Mike's house, karaoke and board games at Nick's. One night Nick, Jeff and David came over for poker and singing around the piano. Another evening Marley, Ryder, Tina, Kitty, Artie, Sam, Stevie and Stacey came over to make cupcakes and watch MGM musicals at Sebastian's insistence.

When Mrs. Anderson came down to refill her teacup, Sebastian had just survived a messy flour war with Ryder, Kitty, Blaine and Sam and was licking the frosting out of the bowl. "What kind of big brother are you, Sam? How have you never shown a single Gene Kelly movie to these kids? They need to be trained in the classics. It will help them stand out in a sea of kids who think Angry Birds is art. They have to watch American in Paris before they come see me next summer."

"Whatever, dude. And I gotta say, even though Nick says you pass for straight – I don't believe it anymore."

Sebastian hurled the spatula at him, square in the abs.

Blaine laughed. "He's right though, Sam. If you want to encourage them to enjoy the arts the way you do, they are at the right age. The older they get, the less interested they're going to be in your opinions. Right now you are so intent on making sure they don't break your guitar, it kind of takes some of the fun out their experience of music." He pointed at the kids across the room, dancing along with Kitty to Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor on TV. "Check them out! Stacey has some grace to her movements." Then he teased," and Stevie totally has rhythm! How is he your brother?"

Mrs. Anderson took her time with her teacup as she watched Blaine. As he spoke, he gingerly dusted flour off of Sebastian's shoulders; brushed more of it delicately off the back of his neck; and, in spite of Sebastian trying to batting him away, carefully swept flour out of his hair. She left as stealthily as she could – clue number four.

On the fourth afternoon after Christmas, Mrs. Anderson came by the media room and coaxed Sebastian to go upstairs for his nap. He was especially groggy that day, after a run around the lake in the cold and a big lunch. She took him by the hand and led him all the way upstairs and into his room, tucking him into bed.

When she returned downstairs she saw through the archway that Blaine was staring out the window at the snow and not even pretending to watch "It's a Wonderful Life."

She went quietly to the kitchen and returned in a few minutes with a magazine, cookies, cheese and crackers, and a pot of tea. She paused in the doorway, saying, "Mind if I join you by the fire here?

"Of course I don't mind, mom." Blaine answered, glancing at her with a half smile.

She pretended to read for a few minutes, but then made no bones about looking up to study his profile. She knew he could see her out of the corner of his eye.

Her "baby" seemed to be changing daily before her eyes. He was using less gel in his hair than he had in high school, and it looked curlier than usual after the very informal lunch he'd had, which undoubtedly included roughhousing with Sam, Nick and Sebastian. His late afternoon stubble also made him look even older to her. All of this seemed to be in keeping with the slightly less formal way he seemed to be carrying himself since he had returned home.

But more than any of that, the look in Blaine's eyes reflected a new maturity. Gone was the naïve, wide-open look of years past. In its place was an expression reflecting a depth of feeling she had never seen before.

[_author's note: see what Mrs. Anderson saw at imgurDOTcom/ac8JCXw]_

They heard the movie's most romantic lines:

_'What is it you want, Mary? What do you want? You want the moon? Just say the word and I'll throw a lasso around it and pull it down. Hey. That's a pretty good idea. I'll give you the moon, Mary.'_

'I'll take it. Then what?'

'Well, then you can swallow it, and it'll all dissolve, see... and the moonbeams would shoot out of your fingers and your toes and the ends of your hair... '

She said quietly, "You're in love with him, aren't you?"

Blaine turned around and looked gravely at his mother. "I think so," he said quietly. He sighed. "Is it that obvious?"

"No, I had to look carefully," she said. "You are so affectionate with everyone that I don't think any of your other friends probably notice - except maybe Tina."

"Yeah, she already kind of knows – she asked me at lunch right after I got back if I had feelings for him and I admitted that had some, but that I'm not sure how Seb feels about me. Coop and I had the same conversation." Blaine sighed. "But that was before Christmas. When I went to pick him up on Christmas Eve, we were standing next to the Christmas tree in the town square and it hit me like a ton of bricks. It was like that line from that song, "Love came and hit me in the eye; flash, bam, alacazam; out of the orange colored sky."

He dropped down on the couch and put his head in his mother's lap. "I looked over at him, and all of sudden I was never so sure of anything in my whole life – I love him. I thought to myself, 'I don't just have a few romantic feelings for him. I don't just want to be a friend who takes care of him - I want to be the one who gets to love him the most. I want to give him all the love that he deserves, and I want him to love me with all his heart.'"

Mrs. Anderson looked at him tenderly. "You do sound very certain."

"I wasn't at first. As quickly as the next day, I was second-guessing the feelings I was having. I thought maybe I was just admiring him for being so brave about Christmas Eve and his dad, or that I was just feeling romantic because it was Christmas and he was getting on so well with all of you…but here I am, it's been five days and I still haven't stopped loving him this way. I can't stop thinking about it, if anything I keep finding more reasons to love him."

Mrs. Anderson's eyes welled up. "So why do you look so serious, dear?"

Blaine fumbled for words. "Because I'm...overwhelmed. It's so intense…not at all like it was with Kurt. When I first fell in love with Kurt, it was soft, romantic, pleasant…It's so different with Seb…it feels fun and romantic, but in a more thrilling and passionate and all-consuming way."

Mrs. Anderson said gently, "Well that makes sense. They are very different young men; and love is different as you mature. I 'm sure the overwhelming feeling will pass."

"But I'm not just overwhelmed. I'm...scared. My feelings for Seb are so strong, they feel so much deeper. When I told Kurt I liked him, he had already told me he liked me, so there was no scariness. What if Seb doesn't feel the same way? And even if he does, what if it doesn't work out? With Kurt I was so naive when we started out - I just assumed everything was going to be fine. Now I know it might not be, and if I had to be without Seb I know it would feel like a million times worse and I don't know how I could bear it..."

Mrs. Anderson smoothed his hair as he continued. "He's the most extraordinary person I've ever met. I feel so differently about him than I did about Kurt. When we were together I always kind of thought Kurt walked on water. Honestly, I still have trouble coming up with what Kurt's flaws are.

"But with Sebastian, I know he has flaws - he can be impatient, even touchy, grouchy - but I know where they come from and they just remind me of why I love and admire him. They remind me of what he's working through and how far he's come. They are a part of him, so I love them."

Blaine's eyes shone. "He's the bravest and strongest person I know. He keeps going after every disappointment from his family, after every mistake he's made. He's not afraid to go after new challenges like Stanford. He's not afraid to be honest with people, or to do what he thinks is right, even if other people won't like him for it. It's really inspiring."

Mrs. Anderson said, "You know he sounds like your father when he was younger. Ambitious, sometimes hot headed, passionate...yet low-key at the same time."

"So you understand! So many people who don't know Sebastian don't see his amazing qualities. Like he has such a big heart, mom - he just doesn't wear it on his sleeve." Blaine smiled broadly. "Except with his grandmother, he's like a different person with her! He's affectionate and appreciative and takes care of her. He really values family, even though she's like all he's got who's worthy of him." He sat up and looked guilty. "I know I should be more sympathetic of his parents but I just can't be right now."

His mother nodded but didn't speak, not wanting to sidetrack him.

"He loves his friends so much, too. Santana told me he sends random gift cards to her when he thinks she might be low on cash, making flimsy excuses about why he's doing it. He drove an hour in the middle of the night when David got stranded without a car with a designated driver at some party. He sends Sam comic books by the box and I'm pretty sure he lied about his frequent flier miles expiring so that he could pay for Sam's airfare home for Christmas.

"And Mom," Blaine's eyes were soft. "He's so good to me. He…" he searched for words. "...sees me. He knows exactly how I'm feeling from the tone of my voice or a look on my face. He's always encouraging, but he never tries to change me."

Blaine sat forward and stared at the lit fireplace. "Whenever I'm down, I can always go to him to feel supported…and protected…safe. Yet his support doesn't feel like a crutch. I always walk away feeling stronger and better. And he usually makes me laugh," he chuckled. "Especially when I need to remember to laugh at myself. At the same time he's like my biggest fan - he accepts all of my flaws, too. Like he's so patient when I get to babbling like I am now," Blaine smiled. "He's the most attentive listener - he makes me feel like I'm the center of his universe when he's listening to me."

Blaine stood up and looked out the window. "Actually, he makes me feel like I'm the center of his universe anytime I'm with him. He's always anticipating what I might need or want. And he always, always tries to put me first - like when he pushed me to go to Scotland even though he would have loved it if I had gone to a program in San Francisco.

He turned to his mother again. "And it's also the little things - if I'm cold, he'll insist that he's not and give me his jacket even though he's shivering. And he never misses a Skype call – sometimes he'll call me with one shoe off in the locker room the minute our call is supposed to start if he's running late. He never forgets anything he says he'll do for me. I know I can count on him, always. He makes me feel like... a priority."

Mrs. Anderson was touched by the lilt in his voice.

Blaine sat down and looked at his mother with shining eyes. "And you know what's just as amazing? He lets me in and shares his life with me. He shares his innermost thoughts and insecurities and dreams. He tells me when he's not feeling sure about himself or his future, and about his messed up parents and his sad childhood…and he lets me take care of him. He's not too proud to let me in. He's actually much more sensitive than people would guess, he's just very discerning about who he shares his feelings with. I feel so special that he trusts all of that with me."

Then he flopped backwards on the sofa, staring at the ceiling. "We're best friends mom, but I want more – he's so beautiful, I can't help but want to be even closer to him. But what kind of relationship could we have 5000 miles apart? That's further than what Kurt and I dealt with. It would be so horrible if I gave my heart completely to him and we failed at making it work. I don't want to imagine having to be distant to him, and worrying about what would he would do without me.

"Plus, I wanted to take this year off to find myself, to not have a boyfriend. And Sebastian should be free to do with college freshmen do - he should be having fun, going to parties…" He swallowed. "dating other people. The timing doesn't seem right. At the same time, I couldn't stop loving him if I tried, and I can't stand the idea of him dating anyone else."

Blaine sat up and shook his head. "I'm getting ahead of myself. For all I know if he doesn't even feel the same way. He hasn't given me any clues, really."

His mother gave him a warm smile. "He does seem very fond of you, darling. He wanted to see your baby pictures, and the way he looks at you sometimes…"

"You sound like Cooper and Sam," Blaine said, standing up and pacing. "Sebastian definitely cares about me – I'm his best friend for sure. But sometimes I think he just thinks of me as his cute little friend, not as boyfriend material." He stopped next to the fireplace. "I'm so scared to ask. But I have to find out how he feels or it's going to eat me up inside…isn't it?"

She nodded, giving him a sympathetic smile.

Blaine paused for several moments. "Does Cooper ever have entire conversations with you by himself?"

"Every week," she smiled.

* * *

Sebastian picked up his mobile phone during a break in Lasertag. "You rang, Princess?" he said languidly.

"That would be Queen to you. I have to pick up the cake for my cousin's Quinceañera tomorrow - come with me and we can pretend to be engaged and sample wedding cake."

"How very ghetto of you – good god you must be bored."

"Oh come on, you should be flattered I'm inviting you because you're the best liar I know. Kurt was jealous that I´m inviting you because he loves cake more than most people love their families. I told him no one would ever buy that he and I are engaged."

"Kurt is jealous of me for many reasons," Sebastian smirked.

"You are such a bastard – one of these days I´m going to dump you for him."

And fight over him with Berry? Hate to break it to you, but you´re stuck with me as your token gay companion."

"Lord help me. So can you come or what?"

"Nope. Blaine's dragging me off to Jeff's sleigh ride thing with the Warblers and some of your public school buddies."

"What? How come I wasn't invited?"

"Maybe because I believe the Warblers refer to you as "the scary-New-Directions-cheerleader-chick" who hurts people with your words."

"And you would be...America's Sweetheart?"

"Hey, I turned over a new leaf, remember?"

"Please, that leaf shriveled up and died ages ago. Then your old leaves grew right back."

"Bitch!"

"Whore!"

Sebastian laughed. "We'll catch up later then, 'Tana. Or I'll text you to keep my fingers from snapping off out in the cold."

"Fine. Where are you guys going, anyway?"

"I don't know, I just show up on the driveway when Blaine RSVPs for us for stuff and he carts me off. Somewhere in the woods, I guess."

"Blaine RSVPs for you? Aww…so where are you two registering for china, again?"

"Ha…ha…ha. Cue the laugh track. You are oh so hilarious, Yeasty." Sebastian rolled his eyes.

"Oh come on, I heard you two were pretty adorable throwing flour at each other at Blaine's house the other night..."

"What the hell, are you McKinley nerds just constantly in a Google hangout, gossiping?"

"It's called talking to your friends. You should try it sometime. But don't avoid the subject. When I heard about the flour flirting I wanted the update. Does this mean you finally bumped uglies with lil B?"

"None of your business, Santana." Sebastian looked annoyed.

"Ooh. Testy – that equals blueballs for Smythe. ´Cause if you HAD bedded Blainers, I´d be able to HEAR you smirking right now. Did he turn you down?"

Sebastian's voice had heat now. "No, he did not turn me down. And I'm done with your Lima-Heights-style hagging about in my business. I'm hanging up now."

"Wait wait wait… come now, let your Auntie 'Tana help out here. So you haven't gotten on that dreamboat acapella mouth? What's stopping you? Oh, are you trying to be all rom-com gushy for the Disney Prince and kiss him at New Year's Eve midnight tomorrow at Mike's?"

Sebastian shot back at her. "SANTANA! May I remind you that YOU were the one who said that he 'needs time to heal?'"

"I said that at Halloween, Twink. It's almost been four months now since the near-wedding. And Blaine told you last week he's not mooning for Kurt anymore - I can't believe you didn't nail him the second he finished that sentence! And you are sleeping under the same roof right now - talk about easy access!"

Sebastian took a deep breath and calmed himself. "Stop it, 'Tana - seriously." He screwed his eyes shut. "It's not clear he's ready. We said he'd need a year to be on his own two feet, remember?"

"Who's we?"

"You, me, Sam, Nick, everyone - don't you remember?"

[author's note: see Sebastian unnerved on the phone at imgurDOTcom/WFcgpTI]

"I don't think anyone designated a timeline, Seb. Maybe you did in your head. And it's not clear if he's ready, getting your mack on with him is a good way to find out! And even if he's not ready, it will give him a taste of the Smooth Criminal so he knows what's waiting for him when he IS ready…"

Sebastian never thought he would see the day where he drew a parallel between the advice of his grandmother and that of Santana Lopez.

"Tana, Blaine does not just 'get his mack on' with people. Blaine is a guy who wants roses and all that stuff before he jumps into bed with someone. And I don't think he's kissed a single person since Hummel. Which would make me the rebound guy if I kiss him tonight. I am not going to be the fucking rebound guy."

"God Seb, you are so technical about this! No wonder you're going to be a scientist!"

"I'm not going to be a scientist. I am not even majoring in science. Seriously, think about college, San – it could help you actually understand what the hell I'm saying when I talk to you."

"Whatever. Just because you would be the first person to kiss him after Kurt does not automatically make you the rebound guy! The rebound guy is a faceless loser who happens to be in front of you a week or a month after your breakup. You either date that loser or just sleep with them and they go on their idiotic way in a day or a month or two. You, my friend, could never be that guy to Blaine. You're not strangers. So once you find your cajones and get those preppy lips in gear, you two idiots will either start dating and sexing like bunnies or you will get awkward but eventually go back to being friends."

"Or we will get awkward and never talk to each other again." He continued with a voice dripping in sarcasm. "But that´s okay, because I would still have your gold medal friendship." He rubbed his forehead, "So NO I'm not going to do anything until I'm sure the timing is right. I'm going to be damned sure I´m not still in cuddly eunuch territory."

"And how the hell are going to be so SURE you´re not in eunuch territory? You spent a week in a HOTEL ROOM in San Francisco with him and you didn't know, you've been home with him for a week in like, the next bedroom over, and you still don't know. The only way you're going to know if he thinks of you as a eunuch or a sex god is if you just friggin' kiss him and see if he slaps you or if he rips your clothes off. You should do it on that sleigh ride thing or at New Year's."

Sebastian snapped, "Snix, keep your beak out of this. I'm going to do whatever the hell I please whenever the hell I please."

Santana retorted, "What are you waiting for, a sign from God? You've been waiting for this for what, two years? This is it. This is IT. He's available. Kurt's fading away." She grew quieter but her tone was just as urgent. "What are you afraid of? Are you afraid of getting everything you've wanted?"

Sebastian was silent.

Finally, he spoke. "Look, 'Tana. I know you must be bored or whatever with your snoozefest of a New York relationship, but trying to shove me into one is not the solution. And all this bitching at me is not going to force my hand."

Santana laughed slyly. "I BET you can't wait to force your hand, baby!"

"And now I'm_ actually _hanging up on you."

"Okay okay, just think about what Auntie 'Tana said…"

"Goodbye, Santana."

"See you tomorrow night, Twink."

* * *

"Hurry up, Seb – we don't want to be late."

"I think this sleigh ride idea is insane," grumbled Sebastian as he wound his scarf around his neck in the front hall. "Unless you're skiing or snowboarding or doing something else athletic, being outside in the snow is idiotic. I hate being cold."

"You've been out to the lake in the snow since we've been back," said Blaine argued.

"On Christmas Eve it was to numb myself from the fact that I share DNA with my father; with Santana it was because I had had a hot pastrami from Delaney's. They don't make pastrami right in California and hot pastrami tastes better when you're outside for some reason. Plus Santana said if I didn't come with her she'd post an unseemly picture of me from Halloween on Instagram. I swear that is the only reason why I deal with her anymore."

"Oh come on," Blaine said. "It's an amazing idea, we'll get to see horses with sleighbells! And we'll all have to sing to keep warm…we haven't sung enough during this vacation so far. And there's been so much snow lately, there are actual drifts, and it's going to be sunny – we can make snowmen and snow angels!"

"Lying down in the snow…yes, this excursion just keeps sounding more and more delightful," Sebastian said, rolling his eyes.

"Ok, Captain Sarcasmo. You can stay home, then." Blaine pouted.

Sebastian relented. He could never stand when Blaine looked like that. He propped his chin on Blaine's head and softened his expression at their reflection in the hall mirror. "Okay, okay, okay…I´m sorry, Killer. Of course if you really want to go, I'll freeze my butt off and go…" He smiled at him. "If only to make sure you don't get lost in a snowdrift." He grabbed his down coat off the coat hook and covered Blaine with it.

"Argh! You're ruining my hair!" came Blaine's muffled shout as he struggled out from under the big coat.

"I'm just getting you ready for the snowdrifts!" Sebastian laughed wickedly.

Blaine threw the coat at him. "You are impossible," he said, fixing his hair in the mirror. Now put that on, we have to go! I don't want those horses to leave without us."

"We PayPaled Jeff our share of the rental so they'd better not leave without us," Sebastian said as he slipped his coat on and they ran out the door.

They pulled up to the designated meeting place, a local elementary school at the edge of town with a large parking lot. The lot however, was empty. Blaine said, "Where is everyone? I thought we were late."

Sebastian looked up from his phone. "Huh. Are we sure we're in the right place?" He opened up his Facebook app to find the event. " Leibfried Elementary, is that what this is?"

"That's what the sign said," Blaine said, puzzled. He took the phone from Sebastian. "Let me see the map on that, is it possible there is more than one Leibfried Elementary?"

"No way," Sebastian said, frowning.

"Oh shoot," Blaine said, noticing the time on the event. "We're here too early. We're supposed to be here at 1:30, not 1:00 – I must have put it in my calendar wrong."

"What?" Sebastian mocked, "Blaine Anderson, Social Secretary Extraordinaire, got a detail wrong?"

Blaine shoved at him. "Oh well, I guess we just wait, no point in going home, by the time we got there, it would be time to leave again." He looked out the window. "It really is so pretty when we have so much snow…it doesn't happen very often." He turned to Sebastian, who was looking out his window. "Let's go for a walk, come on."

Sebastian groaned, then tried a different tactic - he stuck out his lower lip and widened his green eyes. "But it's nice and warm in here," he pouted. "Don't make me come out any sooner than I have to."

Blaine chuckled and got out of the car. He opened the passenger door. " Oh please, you´re trying that? I INVENTED that. He extended his hand. "Walk with me – this will be a lovely memory when you're in California sweating bullets."

Sebastian shook his head but took Blaine's hand and climbed out of the car. He could never refuse Blaine Anderson's outstretched hand.

They walked on a path behind the elementary school grounds, briskly at first to warm up their blood. The sun shone down warmly and the sky was brilliantly blue. The trees loomed above them. The dark branches made little shelves for the snow and huge drifts had been pushed along the sides of a path in the woods behind the school. For once, they didn´t banter at all - Sebastian was too cold and Blaine was too awed by the beauty around them. And it wasn't long before the romantic setting made them both feel suddenly shy.

Bolstered by the talk with his mother the day prior, Blaine joined their gloved hands.

[author's note: see imgurDOTcom/sR8yaMP]

Sebastian looked at him and smiled as Blaine began to sing in his smoothest crooner´s voice:

_[youtubeDOTcom/watch?v=EUpx9YXKUEI]_

_Sleigh bells ring, are you listening?  
In the lane, snow is glistening  
A beautiful sight, we're happy tonight  
Walking in a winter wonderland  
_  
[Sebastian joined in]  
_Gone away is the Bluebird  
Here to stay is a new bird  
He sings a love song while we stroll along  
Walking in a winter wonderland  
_  
_In the meadow we can build a snowman  
We'll pretend that he is Parson Brown  
He'll say, "Are you married?" We'll say, "No man"  
But you can do the job when you're in town_

Later on, we'll conspire  
As we dream by the fire  
To face unafraid  
The plans that we've made  
Walking in a winter wonderland

Sebastian laughed when they finished. "That is seriously one of the cheesiest Christmas carols."

Blaine smiled at him, swinging their hands. "Aw, you love it. It´s one of the most romantic Christmas carols! Getting married at Christmas time, dreaming by the fire? You were singing with feeling, Sebastian Smythe you can't deny it. You are way more romantic than you let on..."

Sebastian didn´t say anything, choosing instead to run ahead on the path. "I'm also a great actor! Come on B, catch me if you can!"

Blaine scampered through the snow after him and slid on the path before crashing into Sebastian, laughing. Then he stopped suddenly. "Seb, look! A cardinal!"

Sebastian looked up just in time to see a flash of red take flight amongst snowy branches. "Okay, that was worth the price of admission."

"See! I told you you´d have fun," Blaine said triumphantly.

Sebastian shook his head. "Well this is us running around - and that cardinal was badass. What we are about to embark on is being shoehorned into an uncomfortable box on runners and freezing our asses off while Trent tells us about his favorite recipe for peppermint bark."

Blaine laughed. "We should turn around, it´s probably almost time for everyone to arrive. Race you back!" He bolted to get a headstart.

Sebastian ran at a moderate pace behind him, only to sprint forward as they approached the elementary school, throwing his arms around Blaine´s waist to catch him.

Blaine laughed, turning around to face Sebastian. His cheeks were like roses and his hair curled underneath his cap.

Sebastian didn´t let go. He didn't take his arms from around Blaine's tiny waist because...well there was no other explanation except that he suddenly really, really wanted to kiss Blaine.

But Blaine was too busy laughing to notice. He scrambled away, yelling "Look, there are the swings!"

Sebastian caught up with him on the school playground, amused at the sight of Blaine pumping his legs to get higher as he swung.

Sebastian sat down on the swing next to him, twisting around on it.

"Aw, poor Seb, too tall to swing," Blaine stuck out his lower lip as he looked down at him in the trajectory of his swinging.

Sebastian got up and turned himself around to lay his chest and abs down on the swing. "When I was a kid, I used to love to swing like this and pretend I was Superman. Of course the recess teachers said it was against the rules."

Blaine chuckled, "And I suppose that never stopped you."

"Of course not," Sebastian smiled, his knees scraping against the ground before he got up – it was just too uncomfortable for a 6'2" person bundled up in an overcoat. He sat down again on the swing again, this time sitting the other direction so he could see Blaine better, his long legs extended forward.

There was a comfortable silence, the only sounds were Blaine swinging through the air and the sound of the chains on Sebastian´s swing twisting.

Blaine´s swing slowed as he stopped pumping his legs. He said wistfully, "Sometimes I wish I was still a kid. It seems like things were so much simpler back then."

Sebastian looked thoughtful. "They were and they weren´t, I think. I find nostalgia amusing - people block out all the crap of ´yesteryear.´ When we were younger, the world seemed just as complex I think, because we didn´t know how much more complicated things were going to get. Figuring out how to sidestep a bully at recess and answering stupid reading comprehension questions back then was just as annoying as juggling college admissions or figuring out what sides of the issues you are on to vote intelligently."

"True," Blaine said, staring at the snow covered playground slide. "But there were longer stretches of play to shake off any stresses."

"You clearly didn´t have to do extra math workbooks after school with Grandmother Fondeur."

"Oh, my mom made me do extra stuff, too. But I don´t think things were just simpler in terms of our problems. Our mindset was simpler. We were more trusting, optimistic - less jaded."

Sebastian looked at Blaine, concerned about the tone of his voice.

But Blaine was brightening as he looked around the playground. "You know what though? The best antidote to feeling jaded is to spend time with kids. That´s why I love hanging out with Stevie and Stacey. Maybe that´s why Sam always has such a good attitude. And when I have my own kids some day. I´ll get to relive childhood through their eyes."

Sebastian stood up and started to push Blaine lightly on the swing. He spoke thoughtfully. "I used to think I didn´t want kids. Babies might be cute and all, but they are also kind of disgusting - fluids everywhere. And the rest of it just sounds exhausting: keeping them from doing stupid things, tantrums, soccer practices..."

"Oh I don't think all of that is as bad when it´s your kid, I think."

Sebastian came around to the front of Blaine and reached an arm across Blaine to grab both chains and stop the swing. "That´s what I´ve heard. I´ve also heard kids learn most by your example - so I feel for any offspring of mine." He didn´t move away, instead he slid his hands up the chain and hung on them, leaning down to smile softly and look at Blaine fondly.

Blaine didn´t get up. Instead he looked up into Sebastian´s eyes with affection. "I think you´d be a great dad. You were great with Stacey and Stevie. Plus you would have help." Blaine started to blush slightly as he realized just how much closer Sebastian had gotten. He seemed to be sliding his hands down the chains of the swing, bit by bit, bringing his face closer and closer to Blaine. "You´d have a partner." Blaine said softly, feeling like he was swimming in Sebastian's green eyes.

Their breath made steam in the cold air. Sebastian´s voice was low and he looked seriously into Blaine's eyes. "Yeah I guess..." he looked down. "It could be okay..." he looked back up with the same serious gaze. "Even good…" he inched lower down the swing chains. "With..." Blaine could see their breath intermingle. "The right…" he felt chills down his spine, "person."

"Right." Blaine breathed. "With...the right...person."

"SEBASTIAN! BLAINE!" Stacey and Stevie came running up, with Sam several yards behind them.

Sebastian let go of the swing quickly and turned around to Stacey slamming into him to hug his legs. Blaine jumped up from the swing and hugged Stevie.

"Hey guys," Sam said, walking up. "Keepin´ warm?"

"You could say that," Sebastian said wryly, as he lifted Stacey onto a swing.

* * *

Again, we love hearing from you, so please keep your feedback coming, no matter how small – curious which are your favorite lines, characters, which platonic ships are your favorites, etc. They each have their own flavor. Thomas loves Seb and Coop, Sebam is a favorite all around, there's lots of love for Sebtana, Dori I think loves them all and I think there is a new fanbase (Kelly, for Seb and Mr. Anderson (Richbastian)…have fun with us and drop a review or a PM!

Also loving the suggestions, though I can't guarantee they will all make it in this story. They could however, come in part three of the trilogy (Stop the Wedding being part 1, this one being part two) ' but no promises. But we are considering all ideas so keep them coming! I will say that Faye, your wish is coming true.


	12. The Universe, Tina and Nina's advice

¨What's this all about Sam? I have never been early for a party in my life." Santana said, sitting down on Mike´s couch and examining her fingernails.

Sam replied while counting heads: ¨Hold on, let me make sure everyone is here: Tina, Trent, Jeff, David, Santana, Mike, Artie, Kitty…¨

The group sat down on the floor on various seats around Mike's large basement.

Sam looked at Nick, who nodded at him, and then spoke dramatically. ¨Okay, Nick and I have called you here to be part of a very special operations unit for tonight: TEAM SEBLAINE."

¨NOOOOOOOOOO!"

¨Yes! What's the plan?¨

¨Seb - blaine? Sebastian? And Blaine? Are they a thing now?¨

¨Where have _you_ been? Didn't you see them on the sleigh ride today?¨

¨Wait, is he the tall one that kinda looks like a serial killer?¨

Nick yelled over the din, "Guys, guys, hear him out."

Sam stood up on the coffee table. Mike gave him a look. Sam got off the coffee table and got up on a folding chair, waving his arms to quiet the group down. "I know, I know what you´re thinking. Some of you think Sebastian is Lord Voldemort and some of you think they are a weird combination. I don´t blame you. A couple of months ago when the two of them started getting all cuddly on our vacation to San Francisco, I thought the whole thing was suspect. But I'm Blaine's best friend…"

"ONE of his best friends," Tina corrected him.

Sam rolled his eyes at her. "And I am his roommate and I can tell you that Seb´s really done some good stuff for Blaine in the last couple of months. He makes Blaine pretty happy, actually. I also can tell you that I have other intel which, though I can´t reveal any specifics, makes me very sure that Sebastian is not out to use and abuse Blaine.¨

¨But what about Kurt?¨ Artie asked.

" There's a reason Kurt wasn´t invited to the party tonight." Sam gave a sympathetic glance to Mike, who was looking guilty. "He and Blaine saw each other before Christmas and decided that they still want to give each other space and let the universe do its thing. So Nick and I think we all need to support Blaine in getting back out there to date other people, and we think Seb is a good option!" Sam did his best Bill Clinton impression, complete with hand gestures.

" Since when are you calling him SEB?" Tina asked, looking wary.

"Since I started to getting to know him, Tina." Sam gave her a dirty look. "Why do you always have to be so suspicious? He´s not such a bad guy once you get to know him. Right, Santana?"

"_She´s_ your celebrity endorsement?" Tina laughed. "Good luck, Sam.¨ She walked away. Mike followed her, looking concerned. Santana rolled her eyes.

"TINA! Why do you have to be so...uuh!" Sam yelled after her in frustration.

Mike said something to Tina quietly and turned her around before she was out of the room. She stood by the door with her arms crossed, looking reluctant and impatient.

Nick calmly took over the reins. "Look you guys, Sebastian has definitely been a jackass in the past but I can tell you that he's changed a lot and he genuinely likes Blaine. I would even go so far as to say that he's in love. Sam and I have seen how he is different around Blaine. He's… sweeter."

Artie looked skeptical. "Sweet? Sweet like rat poison…"

Kitty said to Artie, "Now wait a minute..." She looked thoughtful, then arched an eyebrow at him, hands on her hips. "Hey, remember when people thought I wasn't sweet enough for you?" She turned to Sam. "Winky and Dinky were kind of cute throwing flour at each other the other night. I'm in."

Artie's eyes widened and Santana gave her a nod of approval.

"Yeah!" Sam said, with a big smile for Kitty. "That's true, they're kind of like you and Artie! I think he's good for Blaine, and Blaine's good for him."

Nick addressed the group again. "So Sam and I were just talking this afternoon about how it's such a shame that Seb and Blaine haven't started dating yet – they both obviously like each other, but they are both too chicken to make the first move. So we figured New Year's Eve is the perfect time for them kiss, which will force the issue and hopefully get them to finally admit their feelings to each other."

Sam added in his Mission Impossible voice, "So your mission, should you choose to accept it…"

"I don't accept it," Tina muttered to Mike, who rolled his eyes.

Sam was gesturing dramatically, "is to get those two primed for a kiss at midnight. Do what you can to encourage their romantical… romanticness…"

"Romantic feelings for each other," Nick finished for him.

"Right," Sam said, "Do what you can to encourage their romantic feelings for each other…BY WHATEVER MEANS NECESSARY."

Nick said reasonably, "Like getting them to dance together, or when they are around maybe you could start conversations about romantic movies or couples or places to visit. Maybe some very subtle teasing – not so much that Sebastian decks you, but just enough for Blaine to blush and for Seb to soften around the edges a little."

Artie snarked, "I like a plan that involves me getting decked by a guy like thirteen times as tall as me in my chair. And Sebastian ain't no gentle giant like Finn Hudson."

Sam ignored this. "MOST IMPORTANTLY, do everything you can to make sure they are standing next to each other at midnight!"

Nick said, "I was thinking that at 11:50, if they aren't standing together, Santana and Kitty could ask each of them to get you a drink. They are both polite enough to do that and they can meet at the drink table and have to kiss at midnight!"

"But it's going to be kind of crowded, so it might be hard," Sam said with a gleam in his eye. "SO if they are not standing next to each other at 11:55, one of you can pretend to hit me…"

Tina's raised her hand. "I'll take care of that!"

Sam looked at her, confused. "I thought you weren't on board with Team Seblaine?"

"I'm on board with hitting you."

Sam continued after rolling his eyes at her. "I said you would PRETEND to hit me. I will be standing next to Sebastian and will fake a nosebleed and faint. This will require Seb and the tallest of you – Trent, David, Jeff – to lift me up to carry me out of the room. But when we reach wherever Blaine is standing, I'll tell you all that I'm fine and you can drop me…"

"I'll take care of that!" Tina raised her hand again. Mike rolled his eyes again.

Sam glared at her. "So that will stop Sebastian right in front of Blaine!"

David asked, "But what if Blaine isn't standing between Sebastian and the door?"

Jeff asked, "How do you fake a nosebleed?"

"I'll take care of that!" Tina's arm shot up. Mike gave her a stern look and Sam stuck his tongue out at her.

Nick said gently, "Maybe that's too complicated, Sam. I think my idea can work…but does anyone else have any other ideas? Not just at midnight, but to get them in the mood to kiss? We are very open to suggestions on how to make this happen."

Artie snickered, "How about we play spin the bottle, y'all? Or 7 minutes in heaven!"

"Too much risk involved. If he ends up having too much to drink, Blaine could end up making out with a chick or a hat rack or something," Sam dismissed him. "Get serious, Artie!"

David spoke up, "Wait, he might have something there. We could just make sure Blaine DOES have too much to drink and then just stick him in front of Seb at midnight."

"THAT'S what I'm talking about!" Sam highfived an amused David, but then paused. "The only thing is, Blaine hasn't been drinking as much since he puked all over his shoes on Halloween. But it's worth a shot! Those who are good at peer pressure, step up to the plate, please!"

Mike piped up. "Blaine was just going to sing a 'Paperback Writer,' tonight, but maybe I could convince him to do a more sexy or romantic song."

"Great idea," Nick agreed.

Santana stood up, looking taller in her 5 inch heels. Everyone stared at her and she waited for their silence for dramatic effect. "Youse all can just leave this to Auntie Snix. I gots only one word for you."

The room listened in hushed expectation.

"Twister."

* * *

"You're being so stupid, Sam! It's so obvious he's bribing you with those comic books!" Tina argued hotly as she selected a wine cooler from the drink table.

Sam looked at Sebastian a few paces away in the crowded room. "SHH! They're gonna hear you," He said in a loud whisper. "Sebastian is not bribing me. He was just being thoughtful."

"Wait, are YOU in love with him?" Tina asked. "Is this whole Seblaine thing a cover-up for a crush you have on him?"

Sam groaned. "NOOOO! Man, why do you have to be so paranoid? You are seriously the most untrusting person I know – have some faith, give Sebastian a chance!"

"I did give him a chance. Then he nearly blinded Blaine when he was trying to get Kurt. That was all the chance he deserved."

"Give him a second chance. Blaine gave him a second chance. Blaine forgave him. Why can't you? Blaine gave YOU a second chance after you vapo-rubbed him!"

"THAT WAS A PHASE!" Tina threw her hands in the air. "Why can't you stop bringing that back up! You are so infuriating! You, with your abs and your pecs and your bulging biceps – totally wasted on you because you're such an DOOFUS!"

"Look Tina, the bottom line is, if you are one of Blaine's best friends, why can't you help me do something that could be really great for Blaine? You know he's had a rough couple of months, heck you know he's had a rough _year_. Sebastian puts a real smile on his face, why can't you help them get together?"

"Sam, if you're right about Sebastian – which I don't think you are – Blaine should do this on his own , not because of your meddling!"

"I'm just helping to get them in the right place at the right time! You know Blaine needs a push now and then! You've pushed him yourself, a lot!"

"You know Sam, what I don't appreciate is you trying to push ME into your hair-brained scheme."

"FINE," Sam huffed. "We don't need you, anyway." He turned and disappeared into the crowd of people at the party.

"FINE!" Tina shouted at the back of his head.

"I'm with you," Trent said in a low voice to Tina.

Tina jumped, then turned around and looked at him in puzzlement.

"I am not on board with the whole Seblaine thing."

Tina's eyes widened. "Oh, I thought I was the only one! Mike and Sam keep going on and on about how I'm in love with Blaine – and I'm not. That was just a phase. I just don't think Sebastian's good enough for him. I think he's just taking advantage of Blaine while he's been in a vulnerable position after his almost-wedding."

"Exactly," Trent said. "And Sebastian's rude and conceited and has sketchy morals… Blaine deserves better. Blaine deserves a guy who appreciates him and will be nice to him and can take care of him and is understanding and sensitive…"

Tina looked at Trent and raised her eyebrows. "Are YOU in love with him?"

Trent hesitated, then spoke too hastily. "No, of course not."

"Right," Tina said with a knowing look. "Well you and I can be Team Anti-Seblaine. At midnight we'll be right next to them and make sure it doesn't happen, ok? Instead of kissing each other…"

"I'll just tell Blaine to kiss me," Trent said too casually…"You know, like bros do."

Tina raised her eyebrows. "I was thinking they'd be more comfortable kissing girls they know well because it seems more innocent that way. I can kiss Blaine and I'll make sure Santana is nearby and push Sebastian to kiss her. Her girlfriend is back in New York and she won't have any good reason to turn him down."

Trent looked slightly disappointed but nodded, knowing her plan made more sense.

Tina jumped as Sebastian and Blaine appeared behind Trent.

"Hi there!" she said too brightly.

"Hey guys, stop monopolizing the bar!" Blaine said lightheartedly.

Trent and Tina moved over, looking a little guilty.

"Hey guys," Sebastian spoke in his matter of fact tone, but Tina and Trent could tell he was in a good mood.

There was an awkward pause as Sebastian and Blaine noticed the odd looks Tina and Trent had on their faces. Sebastian took on a guarded expression while Blaine tried to make polite conversation. "So Trent, your Facebook updates have been so fun this quarter! Is Cornell as beautiful as all those photos look?"

"Definitely," Trent gushed. "You should come visit and see for yourself!" Tina arched an eyebrow at him and Sebastian looked at him with suspicion.

Blaine replied with a smile. "I'd love to. It seems so fun, it looks like you've gotten really active with the LGBT scene there, that's awesome!"

Trent beamed. "Yeah, it's been really great, we've been doing a lot of education on campus, leading panel discussions in the fraternity and sorority houses, doing some outreach to local high schools. It's been really satisfying to debunk a lot of stereotypes and talk about…" he paused, a small smile appearing on his face. "We talk about assumptions people make about gays." He looked sideways at Tina. " Like how at a party like this, where there are only three gay guys in the room, a lot of people would assume that the three of us would want to kiss each other at midnight, just because we're gay!"

Blaine and Sebastian looked in different directions. Tina chimed in too enthusiastically. "Yeah, isn't that ridiculous!"

Sebastian turned back to Blaine and said under his breath, "He's right if he means that I'd rather kiss Tina than him."

Blaine stifled a laugh and turned to Trent with a half smile. "Yeah, people are funny…"

Puck had been half listening to their conversation as he watched Santana yelling at Sam about something. He interjected with a conspiratorial grin at Blaine and Sebastian…"Yeah…so who IS everyone here kissing at midnight?"

Sebastian was casual, shoving his hands in his pockets and looking across the room as he spoke. "Not sure there always needs to be a plan, Agent Puckerman. Not everyone wants to be kissed at midnight in a public spot."

"But it's tradition!" Artie said, winking at Kitty as they joined the conversation.

Blaine was also trying to be casual. "That's true, don't rain on their parade, Seb – just kiss whoever happens to be standing nearby at midnight." Then he made a mental note to stick to Sebastian like glue when it got to be close to midnight.

"Once again, the lack of boundaries in the New Directions is wildly disturbing," Sebastian remarked with a smirk, earning a laugh that rippled through the group.

"GAME TIME!" Santana called out from a corner of the basement.

Blaine laughed as he turned towards her, "This is always a fun part of the night."

Sebastian looked at him. "I am _not_ playing spin the bottle – again, with the boundaries..."

Blaine whispered to him with a grin, "And what kind of boundaries did you have with all those boys at Scandals?"

"I never kissed on the mouth, ever." Sebastian said haughtily. He broke into a chuckle however, and tugged at Blaine's arm. "Come on, let's go mess around on the karaoke instead."

"Oh, we can at least watch the games!" Blaine gestured for Sebastian to follow him across the room.

Sebastian gave in and they crossed with a few others to the other end of the large basement where a crowd was discussing what game to play first. When Santana noticed Blaine and Sebastian joining the group, she said "Hey you two, you two going to play?" She handed Blaine a wine cooler. "I'd offer you one, but I know better, Snobby. There ain't no top shelf scotch around here."

Blaine thanked her with a smile, but Sebastian looked bored and didn't look at Santana.

"Seb, you are such a drag," Santana said, crossing the circle. She took Blaine by the shoulders and steered him over to her spot next to the built-in bookshelves. "Blainers, you come over here with me – I want you on my team. Your vacation housemate there has been monopolizing my time so much, I've barely spent any time with you, Shortcake."

Suddenly Sam said in stiff and too loud voice, "I don't know, I'm tired of the same old drinking games. Let's play some board games while we're drunk!"

"How about Monopoly?" Jeff said too brightly.

Sebastian leaned over to Nick. "Is this some kind of skit?"

"That's totally boring," Thad said.

Ryder said, "How about Taboo? The buzzer could be pretty hilarious after a few more Tequila shots!"

Marley, Jake, Thad and Tina sounded enthusiastic about it. Kitty, Artie, Santana, Sam, Nick, Jeff, David, Sam and especially Sam hooted them down - very loudly.

Blaine looked good-naturedly indifferent to the debate. Sebastian was arching an eyebrow at Santana and eyeing the naysaying group suspiciously. He said in an aside to Jeff, "You guys are are about as subtle as a Chris Matthews. What the hell are you up to, Sterling?"

Jeff didn't answer.

Thad complained, "Well if you guys are so against Taboo…what DO you want to play?"

"TWISTER!" the opposing group all said at once.

Sebastian shook his head at Santana. He crossed the circle and hissed in her ear, "Very subtle. Nuanced, even. Really, Tana – you're capable of so much more than this." He smacked her ass.

Santana gave him a sassy smile, "I don't know what you're talking about, Slick."

"I'm out of here," he said darkly. He started to leave the circle.

"Seb, where are you going? Stay and at least watch. This should be funny!" Blaine said, widening his big eyes.

Santana smirked, deciding that the less said, the better. Blaine's eyes were doing the work.

Sebastian said in an undertone, "B, I just…"

"Come on, Seb. I love Twister – I haven't played it since I was a kid. Remember we talked about reliving our childhood? Stay and at least laugh at me?" The widened eyes morphed into the puppy dog eyes and Sebastian was done for.

He sat down on a folding chair next the bookcase, arms crossed. Blaine looked concerned. "Seb, if you really don't want to…"

"It's okay, B." Sebastian said evenly.

"Now where is the Twister game?" Santana asked Mike.

"All the games are over on the bottom shelf of the bookcase," Mike replied. He leaned down. "Wait, where is the Twister?" He looked genuinely puzzled.

"Oh I see it," Santana said smoothly. "It's on the top shelf up there. Seb, can you reach it? You're the tallest one here, I think."

Sebastian flashed her a dirty look that said "_What now_?" He got up, but even he couldn't reach it from the shelf in the floor to ceiling wall unit.

Blaine said, "I think I can reach it if I get on your chair." He hopped up gracefully and Sebastian knew in an instant what Santana was up to. Blaine's perfect ass was positioned directly in front of Sebastian's sight line. His gaze hesitated for a moment too long before he turned around to give Santana another dirty look.

Kitty happened to be standing next to him and noticed the look he was giving Santana. She said in a casual aside to him, "Santana really is every bit the bitch everyone says she is. But you might as well enjoy the view."

Sebastian looked at her with an expression that questioned her existence in his life.

Kitty remarked flippantly. "Don't give me that look, Stanford. It's not like the rest of us are blind. But while Santana is as subtle as a dog in heat, you might as well enjoy the show she's putting on. Then if you want to thwart her, just don't give her the satisfaction of giving her the end result she wants… assuming she's trying to get you to kiss Blaine."

Sebastian's expression reflected that a modicum of respect was growing in his mind for the little blonde.

He decided try her advice on for size and stepped back to have a good look at the wiggling backside of Blaine trying to reach the shelf.

Blaine finally turned around, shrugging and giving up. "I guess I'm not tall enough even with this chair," he said with a smile. Smirking at Santana, Sebastian hopped up on the folding chair to stand behind Blaine, causing whispers amongst the group. To fit on the chair together, Sebastian stepped a foot between Blaine's legs and pressed their bodies together so he could reach the Twister box. His groin pressed up against Blaine's perfect ass and he felt a rush of blood to where it counted. This strategy was backfiring. He jumped down with the box and offered a hand to help a blushing Blaine step down.

Sebastian smirked at Santana again as he handed her the box. He whispered to her, "Do what you want, it's not going to happen."

Artie pulled Kitty down to whisper in her ear. "The reverse psychology thing is risky. What if he really follows your advice and doesn't kiss him at midnight?"

"Please," she said. "Blaine's ass makes this whole thing easier than a 2nd grade math test. Mike told me Blaine is going to sing one hot little number later. Between that and Twister, Sebastian is going to work himself up to a point where he's going to have to kiss Blaine at midnight or jerk off in the bathroom. I'd put money on the kiss - he's lived in Paris. I bet he's more romantic that he lets on."

Sebastian settled down again in his chair and the game started, with Santana at the spinner. Within a couple of rigged turns of play, she conveniently positioned Blaine in a downward dog position in front of Sebastian's chair. Sebastian smirked at her as he enjoyed the view, whispering just loud enough for her to hear: "BUT NO KISS AT MIDNIGHT."

[see Sam's drawing of Blaine at Twister at imgurDOTcom/Of7uYjP]

Nick said casually to him as the play progressed, "So I heard from Sam that you two will be in Paris together next summer…" Sebastian gave him an evil look.

"Yes, with Sam and his younger brother and sister," Sebastian said. "Duvall, you are as bad of an actor as Santana and Sam. Are you trying to get me to have sex with Blaine tonight? Or just propose marriage?"

Nick grinned, "Either will do, man."

Sebastian laughed in spite of himself. "Someone get me a goddamned drink," he said to no one in particular.

Jeff immediately put a Jack and Coke in his hand.

"Sterling, it's always entertaining to have you in on a plot." Sebastian drawled. "Between this and your Klaine stakeout, you may soon graduate into Duvall's class of nosy, meddling idiocy."

Nick stuck his nose in the air. "He can only wish for such a speedy ascent!"

Sebastian swigged the Jack and Coke and laughed again. "You are hopeless, Duvall."

"Remember it all comes out of love, Seb – love for you, love for Blaine, and love for all the money you'll bestow on me if you two eventually get together and recognize me with a cash bonus for all I've done to bring about your union."

"You are delusional. But I always knew you were only friendly to me for my money."

Ten minutes later, Blaine had shifted various positions, all of which required him to stick his ass in the air. For a final touch, Santana called a color that required him to spread his legs with his backside still in the air directly in front of Sebastian.

Sebastian was on his second Jack and Coke and rolled his eyes. At the last spin, he called out, "Lopez, you are the smoothest criminal that ever lived!"

"Always happy to oblige!" she said, waving and smiling from across the way.

Mike fell down with a crash at that moment, toppling Blaine.

"And Young Elvis wins this round!" Santana announced, and all their friends applauding. "SECOND ROUND!" Santana called. "Sebastian Smythe, your turn! You have told me what I believe to be baldfaced lies about your flexibility! I want to see how pliable those oversized appendages are!"

"Not finished with my drink, 'Tana." Sebastian called. "Pick on another poor bastard."

Santana started making clucking noises and the crowd followed suit.

"You people are ridiculous," Sebastian said, downing the rest of his Jack and Coke. "Can't a man finish his drink without being subjected to poultry mating calls?"

He got up and shrugged his blazer off. Almost immediately Sam "accidentally" splashed water on his chest.

"SAM!" Sebastian yelled.

"Sorry dude, I'm such a klutz."

"LET'S GO!" Santana called. "A little water never hurt anyone."

"Neither did a little wet t-shirt action!" Unique called, more than a little tipsy on her 3rd margarita. Santana, Puck, Ryder and Thad hooted and hollered as well.

Sebastian gave Sam a dirty look. "Really, you're in on this too?"

Sam gave him his best innocent stare. Sebastian sighed. "This is a fucking conspiracy."

"RIGHT HAND RED!" shouted Santana.

Sebastian crouched down and put his right hand down, but in his second move he made the mistake of putting himself in a crab walk position after deciding he didn't want to stick his ass in the air. Santana knew it was Seb's mistake as she watched Blaine, who was sipping on his wine cooler, stare at Sebastian's wet t-shirt, which was stuck to his chest, strong arms, flat abs and broad shoulders. Santana's guess as to why Blaine' mouth was hanging open? The hardened nipples visible under the almost completely transparent white fabric.

Sebastian was oblivious to his objectification because he was too busy shooting death glares at various members of the snickering peanut gallery: Sam, Nick, Jeff, Kitty, and Santana.

Ten minutes later, Sebastian had won his round and was then invited to the final round, where of course he would play against Blaine and the token third player, Trent.

Naturally Trent blushed as he was positioned near Blaine, and then predictably was the first one out. This left Sebastian and Blaine. Blaine laughed and blushed as they were put into position where he had to crouch down and press his backside into Sebastian's chest and his leg right into Sebastian's upper, inner thigh. Sebastian glared at Santana as he felt himself start to get hard. When the cat calls started he toppled himself over and Blaine was declared the winner.

Mike came over to Blaine and said, "Blaine, you're up!"

Blaine stood up spluttering. "How did you? I'm not…"

Mike looked at him, his brow furrowed. "What? You're opening the live performances tonight, come on."

"Oh, right!" Blaine blushed.

Sebastian remembered the Blaine had promised to perform a Beatles song on his guitar for the party, so he threaded his way through the crowd to stand in front. Seeing Blaine perform live was one of his favorite things from high school. Hell, it was one of his favorite things, period.

Sebastian was surprised as Blaine approached the microphone stand without his guitar. Unique, Tina and Marley poised themselves at microphones behind him. And Sam picked up an electric guitar, Jake was at the keyboards, and Ryder played drums.

They started the song and Blaine jumped right into his sexiest stage persona, with the three girls writhing behind him for added effect_ [author's note: hear it here metacafeDOTcom/watch/8305118/prince_raspberry_beret/ and see a pic of Blaine singing it here imgurDOTcom/bdfNJRH]_.

_Yeah  
I was working part time in a five-and-dime  
My boss was Mr. McGee  
He told me several times that he didn't like my kind  
Cause I was a bit 2 leisurely  
Seems that I was busy doing something close 2 nothing  
But different than the day before_

_That's when I saw him, Ooh, I saw him_  
_He walked in through the out door, out door_  
_He wore a Raspberry beret_  
_The kind U find in a second hand store_  
_Raspberry beret_  
_And if it was warm he wouldn't wear much more_

_Listen  
They say the first time ain't the greatest  
But I tell ya  
If I had the chance 2 do it all again  
I wouldn't change a stroke  
Cause baby I'm the most  
With a guy as fine as he was then_

It was Blaine singing Prince. _For fuck's sake._ This was going to be the death of him. He was Sebastian Smythe, a man with an iron will…but even _he_ was not a friggin' monk. He had spent ten days reigning himself in with the steely resolve he had, for better or for worse, gotten from his father. These ten days included several nights of holding back the urge to make his way to Blaine's bedroom after waking in the middle of the night to a sound or a dream. And now, any good karma he had built up from ten days of upstanding, turned-over-a-new leaf behavior were going to hell-in-a-handbasket. The steely resolve of the great Sebastian Smythe was about to fall apart after one performance by Blaine Anderson, who sang like an angel and danced like a stripper. After the last note there was pretty much nothing that was going to stop him from getting up on that stage, throwing Blaine over his shoulder and carrying him upstairs to find Mike Chang's bedroom and having mind-blowing sex they would never, EVER forget.

Some mind-blowing sex that could ruin everything he really wanted long term with Blaine. He was going to kill Santana, Nick, Sam or whoever the hell was responsible for this.

Or maybe he was going to thank them, because holy shit Blaine had never looked sexier.

Santana came over, undulating to the beat.

"I hate you," he said with gritted teeth.

"You do not," laughed Santana. "Blaine's giving you his bedroom eyes!"

He was. _And damn, the curls are coming undone. Fuck, I'M coming undone. _

Santana grabbed Sebastian by the hips and danced around him. "And look at little B's hips! He's such a tease!"

Sebastian ignored her and kept nodding his head and giving his encouraging smile to Blaine. _Ugh she's right…he's teasing me with that hip swivel…his sweat is dripping down his cheekbones, down his neck, under his collar. And hot damn his ass looks magnificent in those pants. Fuck, she really shouldn't be touching me when he's dancing like that. Fuck._

With a deep breath, Sebastian broke free from Santana and walked over to David, who looked like a safe haven in the midst of the madness. David was talking earnestly with Wes. "You know, as much as I love you guys, I wish I was in Berkeley right now," said David. There's a girl I've fallen hard for and I wish I could be there to kiss her at midnight."

Wes was sympathetic. "At least it's under a week before you see her again. That will be a happy reunion."

David replied, "Well, I don't even know that. I don't really know how she feels about me – I may be in 'the friend zone' still, for all I know." He glanced at Sebastian. "New Year's would be the perfect time to find out - one kiss is worth a million words, if you asked me."

Sebastian groaned. "David? Really? Et tu, Brutus?"

David chuckled and patted him on the back. "What can I say man, you two would make a damn cute couple!"

_[David at the party: imgurDOTcom/H2TYFlm]_

The song ended and Blaine came off the stage. Sebastian practically bolted in the opposite direction.

Blaine came over to David and Wes and gestured toward Sebastian. "Where's he off to?"

"I don't know…maybe the restroom?" Wes suggested.

Blaine said, "Well I'm headed there myself, I need a towel – it was hot up there, I'm sweating buckets!"

Meanwhile, Sebastian had run into Kitty at the drink table. He poured a Jack Daniels for himself, regretting that he hadn't brought his own flask.

"You should have that on the rocks," Kitty said, offering the ice bucket. "'Cause you looked like you needed a little cooling off after Blaine's number."

Sebastian didn't take the ice and looked her coldly. "That's the second time you've given me random, unsolicited advice tonight. Do I even know you?"

"I'm Kitty, you know me from the Gershwin rehearsals for the Klaine bachelor party. I was one of your best dancers, I know you must have tracked that. I was also at Blaine's the other night with Sam's little brother and sister, making cupcakes. Don't pretend you don't remember me even if we've never actually had a conversation. Cupcakes. You must remember the cupcakes." Kitty gave him a cool smile.

_[see Kitty at the party imgurDOTcom/D8t2oLM]_

"Right - cupcakes." Sebastian said absently, sipping his whiskey. She was certainly a bold little thing.

"You should also know that I'm the current reigning bitch at McKinley. I've heard about you from Blaine and Artie. I heard that you were the equivalent at Dalton for a couple years running, so I figured I should come meet you properly in the flesh and see if you were all that."

Sebastian didn't respond. He pretended to watch Jeff lead a couple of the Warblers in a boyband number. He was considering what to do at midnight, which was only about 5-10 minutes away. He didn't want to open a can of worms by kissing Blaine if the timing still wasn't right for them. He didn't want to be cut off at the pass before he even got started. Or maybe he was making a too much out of a trivial New Year's kiss. Except his first kiss with Blaine would never be trivial. But he was going to go nuts if he didn't get to at least kiss Blaine after getting to press his cock up against him a couple times tonight. Add to that the sex angel Prince performance and the night was going to be boiling down to at least car sex after the party. He was getting hard just thinking about it. He shook himself. But what if Blaine wasn't ready? It hadn't been that long ago since Blaine had been sobbing in his bed over Hummel.

Kitty looked like she was reading his thoughts. "I know I said earlier that you should piss Santana off by not kissing him, but the more I think about it, the more I think you're screwed either way. You kiss him, everyone whoops and hollers and embarrasses you. If you don't, they're all over your ass anyway. So I say you kiss him – just in case Blaine is into you. If he's into you, he would be disappointed or hurt if you didn't kiss him. And even if you're not into him, you should throw him that bone. And if it turns out he's not into you, it's a harmless New Year's kiss you can both shrug it off without embarrassment."

Sebastian arched an eyebrow at her.

"But don't give Santana the satisfaction of a French kiss, Monsieur Smythe. And don't try to save your pride by making it seem like someone forced you to kiss him, 'cause that'll hurt Blaine's feelings no matter what . He deserves better treatment."

Sebastian took another drink. She scored points with him for thinking of Blaine. "I'm glad to hear someone is thinking how Blaine might feel in Santana's whole ridiculous scheme."

"Give him a casual peck and get the idiots off of your back. Then you two can decide later where to go from there," Kitty said casually.

There was a pause. Sebastian looked amused. "Machivellian. Hell, you're like a mini-Santana," he smirked.

"Mini-Quinn," she corrected him.

"Whatever, you bossy girl glee clubbers are all exhausting. Happy New Year, Cupcake." He strode away towards the stage.

Artie rolled up to her. "Done," Kitty said with a smirk.

In the bathroom, Blaine mopped off his forehead and neck as he looked at himself in the mirror. He was exhilarated from his performance and feeling bold. It was New Year's, 2014, and this was going to be the year when he got it right with Sebastian. Even though there they were there with a lot of other people who might tease, Blaine had decided New Year's Eve was the time to go for it. If anything, he had to do it because his body was still having a visceral reaction after seeing Sebastian in a wet t-shirt all night. He had to do it because all he could think about while he was singing Raspberry Beret was how Sebastian's hard body felt pressed up against him while reaching for the Twister box and during those few precious seconds of the game's final round. It also didn't hurt to see Sebastian's abs peek out from under this t-shirt as he danced and sexily smiled at him front and center during the performance. Blaine just had to see if a New Year's kiss did anything for Seb. If he just looked amused or polite or something, Blaine could laugh it off as just a kiss for tradition's sake and then go home to heal his broken heart. If after the kiss Seb looked like he felt something..._Don't jinx it. _

Blaine wished so hard that it felt like a prayer.

He opened the door and walked back out to the crowd, scanning the faces for Sebastian. Almost immediately he found him near the stage. They locked eyes and smiled. Blaine thought this had to be a good sign.

The next few minutes passed like a blur as he tried to make his way towards Sebastian. Blaine was vaguely aware of Unique singing a Beyonce' song, of the smell of alcohol, of the sound of apple cider and champagne being poured. He pushed past more people, a few familiar in his peripheral vision: Puck, Jake, Ryder, Marley?

He was barely aware of the pounding dance beat. He was still halfway across the room when he saw Santana pulling on Sebastian, asking him something. Sebastian was waving her off. He caught Blaine's eye and pointed towards the archway to the basement stairs that was about halfway between between them. He nodded, still feeling like he was in a fog. Blaine smelled perfume…Kitty? He thought he heard Kitty say something to him as he passed her, but he was too intent on reaching Sebastian to bother double checking – Kitty would call him again if it was important.

What was important right now to him was getting to Sebastian – because midnight was drawing near. Still in a haze, he saw Sam next to Sebastian, looking the way he did when he got intense about Halo. Ryder and Jake were nearby and Ryder looked keyed up, too. They must be playing a game of some kind. He was in too much of a trance to care. He smiled shyly at Sebastian as they both moved toward the stairwell. Sebastian was smiling back and Blaine was feeling like he might be in the middle of a really good dream. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Sam yell something, but Unique hit a killer high note that drowned him out.

Blaine's heart started to beat faster and faster.

David, Jeff, Puck, Ryder, Mike, and Jake lifted Sam recumbent in the air just as Sebastian turned away from them. Maybe this really was a bizarre dream. Even if it was, Blaine was going to focus on getting to that stairwell and at least getting to kiss Sebastian Smythe at midnight on New Year's in his dreams.

Blaine pushed past Artie, who gave him a sweet smile. He could smell beer and cologne and sweat. He glimpsed Santana and Tina arguing about something. He saw Trent smiling sweetly at him. Then he saw Sebastian, looking more handsome than he'd perhaps ever seen him. He reached the stairwell first and sprawled his long legs down from a middle step.

A few seconds later Blaine reached him and he instantly felt grounded again. This wasn't a dream, this was Seb and Blaine, about to cozy up in a little space above the crowd. Blaine's heart pounded so hard he thought Sebastian must surely be able to hear it. The stairs were too narrow for them to sit side by side, but Sebastian patted on the step below his where Blaine could fit between his knees. Blaine sat down with his back against Sebastian's thighs and he thought he never wanted to leave that safe and incredibly sexy spot.

The music and crowd were so loud that Sebastian had to lean over for Blaine to hear him. Blaine closed his eyes as he felt Sebastian's breath on his neck. He wanted to be this close to Sebastian forever. No, he wanted to be even closer. But this was very, very good.

"Hey, Killer." Sebastian didn't move away from his ear after he spoke, waiting for a response. His voice gave Blaine chills, just as it did the first day he met Sebastian at Dalton.

And just like that fated day at Dalton, Blaine 's mind went blank and he had nothing witty to say in response. He turned his head slightly towards Sebastian. "Hey," he whispered back. It was just as well that they didn't face each other sitting this way - Blaine was grateful Sebastian couldn't see the blush flooding his face.

Unique and the others had abandoned the stage to find kissing partners.

During the lull in music, Sebastian's sexy voice said seriously in his ear, "You need to always sing Prince. Seriously. Always. Like tonight on the car ride home. And tomorrow morning over breakfast. And in the afternoon when we go for a run. And everyday until we have to go back to school. And right now. Sing _Diamonds and Pearls_. Acapella. Now."

Blaine thought he might be getting a hard-on just listening to Sebastian talk in that voice about having breakfast with him tomorrow. Breakfast in bed, rumpled sheets…

Sebastian added, "Or Purple Rain, that's a kick-ass one, too."

Blaine laughed and turned sideways so he could see Sebastian's beautiful face. He tucked his knees under Sebastian's right leg and leaned back against the inside of Sebastian's left knee. "You get like this every time I sing an artist you've never heard me sing before."

"This time I really mean it." Sebastian said, smiling and raising his eyebrows.

Someone cranked up the DJ speakers to "This is the New Year." Sebastian and Blaine smiled at each other as they listened to it:

_Another year you made a promise _

_Another chance to turn it all around_

_And do not save this for tomorrow_

_Embrace the past and you can live for now_

_And I will give the world to you_

Blaine was looking out over the room, trying to calm himself. "It's been a ridiculous year - the most dramatic of my life. I can't imagine going through another one like it."

"You came out better for it," Sebastian answered quietly.

"I have," Blaine said thoughtfully. "I'm finally coming to embrace my past. I feel so much stronger for it. And I feel unbelievably older. I feel like I'm a different person, almost."

"Almost. You're still Blaine Anderson, though: flawless."

Blaine smiled and shook his head at him, blushing. They paused in comfortable silence, hearing the lyrics of the song and wordlessly acknowledging their significance:

_Say everything you've always wanted  
Be not afraid of who you really are_

_'Cause in the end we have each other  
And that's at least one thing worth living for  
And I would give the world to you_

Blaine said, "You've had quite a year, too. The steroid scandal; getting into Stanford; graduating, moving across the country; making first string on the lacrosse team; adjusting so successfully in your first year of college…"

"Jury's still out on that last one. But you left out the best part of my year."

"What?"

Sebastian paused before answering, listening again to the lyrics of the song.

_And build a statue strong enough for two_

_And pass it back to you_

They looked in each other's eyes, comfortable with their genuine affection for one another.

_And I will wait for you_

_'Cause I would give the world_

_And I would give the world_

_And I would give the world to you _

"The best of part of my year, by a long shot, was earning the right to spend time again with the one and only Blaine Anderson."

Blaine blushed, but was emboldened Sebastian's sweet words. He pulled out his phone, checking the time before glancing out at the crowd. He glimpsed Tina, Kitty, Jeff, and Trent looking in their direction. Blaine wasn't as oblivious as he seemed sometimes. He looked up at Sebastian's warm green eyes with a brave smile. "It's almost midnight and I guess all these people expect the gay guys to kiss each other."

"I guess so," Sebastian smirked. He glimpsed Sam, Santana and Nick out of the corner of his eye but wouldn't look at them. "Shall we give the people what they want, Killer?"

The anthem heralded in the New Year as they exchanged small smiles and thoughtful looks.

_This is the New Year  
A new beginning  
You made a promise  
You are the brightest  
We are the voices  
This is a New Year  
We are the voices  
This is a New Year_

Blaine blushed and he looked down with a shy smile. "This is kind of awkward."

Sebastian gave him a cheeky grin. "Why? Because you've been thinking about it since the day we met?"

"5!"

Blaine rolled his eyes. "I read somewhere that Europeans see a New Year's kiss as an act of purification. You definitely need purification."

"4!"

"Shut up and kiss me, B."

They smiled at each other.

"3!"

Their eyes were searching as they leaned towards each other.

"2!"

Their eyes closed.

"1!"

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!" The crowd exploded with shouts: horns blew, confetti flew, champagne flowed. Sebastian reached down, put his hand behind Blaine's neck and kissed him. Blaine leaned into him, reached up and kissed him right back.

The world around Blaine hushed to near stillness as Sebastian's lips met his - it felt like everything and forever and every drop of right now he could handle without falling apart at the seams. Desire, fear, exhilaration and a thousand other emotions rushed through him. Sebastian's lips were soft, pressing without urgency but definitely pressing with _something_.

It was hot. It was sweet. But all too soon the feeling that they were being watched, the noise, and their own fears got in the way and it was over, both of them starting to pull away at the same time.

Blaine's eyes fluttered open and he found Sebastian looking down at him. It was hard to read his expression, it was almost…

"SEB! We're up, come on!" Thad was shouting at them.

Sebastian's head lifted quickly and he looked unreadable for a moment.

"Earth to Seb!" Meatbox was now yelling at him, too.

The reason for their presence dawned on him. "Shit," he muttered to himself. He looked down at Blaine.

Trent joined Meatbox and Thad at the bottom of the stairs. "Sebastian! Come on, everyone's waiting! We can't start without you, you're singing lead!"

Sebastian didn't look away from Blaine as he commanded them from the stairs. He studied Blaine's big mesmerizing eyes as he called, "I'm out, you guys. You can make it work. You sing lead for me, Nixon! You were always whining for a goddamned solo in high school…."

Blaine's eyes darkened with lust - Sebastian was hot when he took charge.

"No way, Sebastian! I don't remember the lyrics after all this time!"

"Come on, Seb!"

"SEBASTIAN!" Nick and Jeff had joined the group to make the hollering twice as loud. Sebastian turned to glare at them and Blaine looked down at them, too. His heart melted a little at these sweet guys. He loved them so much, these Warblers, these guys whose handsome faces showed how much they still kind of worshiped their captain, even when he yelled at them. They appreciated Sebastian, they appreciated his whole grouchy, strong-willed, passionate package. Blaine's heart warmed.

Blaine tugged on Sebastian's arm. "Seb, it's okay, just go ahead…but maybe later we can…talk?"

Seb furrowed his brow at him and took a deep breath before speaking in a low voice to Blaine. "Really? I'm sorry, I forgot the big Warbler number is supposed to be right now. I don't know why someone else can't just sing lead…"

"Because there is only one Sebastian Smythe," Blaine smiled up at him. "It's okay, really."

Sebastian looked at him with concern. "You're sure?"

Blaine spoke with nearly convincing certainty. He was pretty sure he could reign himself in for the sake of his Warbler friends. "Yes, yes. Go, I can't wait to see what number you guys said the Headmaster wouldn't allow you to perform in competition."

Thad was halfway up the stairs towards them, reaching out to yank at Sebastian's arm. "Come on, man!"

Sebastian was dragged off with an apologetic look on his face.

_A new beginning  
You made a promise  
You are the brightest  
We are the voices  
This is a New Year  
_

* * *

Well there you have it, your first Seblaine kiss! Hope it suits. Please review, we love hearing from you. What did you like, didn't like? Was Sam too much of a cartoon? Just know that Tina is being harsh here for a reason, don't hate on my girl too much!

And was Sebitty realistic? I kinda like them as friends...this is just a little beginning for them. And was it too mean to have Trent crushing on Blaine? I mean who doesn't crush on Blaine? :)

No shirtlessness in this chapter, but hope the wet t-shirt sufficed (yes, I'm talking to you...you know who you are :) ).

Hope everyone is having a great holiday season. Next chapter will be up fast! Please tell me what your favorite parts were, etc. and I'll try to keep giving you similar stuff!


	13. Meeting Mr Smythe, and the smut

Sebastian stood up to greet his father, taking a deep breath. Blaine stood up too, barely breathing.

"Sebastian," William Smythe said brusquely, slamming the door behind him. "What…"

"Dad," Sebastian cut in boldly, "This is my friend Blaine Anderson. He and I met at Dalton. You knew his dad Richard Anderson, when you were boys?"

Mr. Smythe looked thrown for a moment, but remembered his manners. He extended his hand with a polite smile. "Of course. Your father has come a long way since we played baseball in the park together."

Blaine smiled politely in return and shook his hand firmly. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Smythe."

"Blaine, was it?" Mr. Smythe asked. Blaine nodded. "Would you excuse my son and I for a few minutes?"

"Of course," Blaine said politely. "I'll just go into the kitchen and get myself a drink of water." He ducked quickly through the swinging door to the kitchen, flashing Sebastian his most sympathetic glance.

Sebastian took a breath and braced himself. And as he predicted, the moment the door swung behind Blaine, his father lit into him:

"What the hell were you thinking, throwing a party here?!"

"Dad, you said I could have run of the house while I was home. And we're cleaning up."

"Run of the house means you can use the jacuzzi when you want to, run of the house means you can play your little piano as loud as you want to…run of the house does NOT mean that you can throw a huge party to scuff the floors, disturb the neighbors, and make a huge mess for Teresa and the rest of the staff to clean up after you. It's like you're still 15, for Chrissake. Or 5."

The swinging door provided no soundproofing for the kitchen, so Blaine was stuck hearing every word, sitting on a kitchen stool, leaning against the kitchen island with his head in his hands.

Sebastian said stiffly, "I'm getting the floors done, our closest neighbor is a quarter mile away. But look, I'm sorry – clearly we miscommunicated…I didn't mean to…"

"YOU look here, young man. WE did not miscommuncate. YOU took advantage of a situation. AGAIN."

Sebastian stood his ground, his mouth in a firm, straight line. "No. I really wasn't trying to take advantage of anything. I just didn't think it was a big deal. I wasn't trying to push your buttons."

"We're going to have to pay the staff extra to clean up this mess. As if they don't have enough to do around here with all the snow we've been having."

Sebastian said coolly, "There's a separate cleaning staff coming in tomorrow to do the hardest work - like the floors."

"And how much is that going to cost me?"

"Nothing. Blaine's parents insisted on paying for it. The party was for Blaine's birthday."

His father exploded. "What?! Sebastian, what on earth did you let them do that for?"

"They insisted…" Sebastian said, furrowing his brow. _ What was the big fucking deal?_

"Have you no pride, Sebastian? If you are going to throw a party, particularly with old money like Richard Anderson, at least do it with some class. Tell me that you didn't let them pay for the food and drinks and all these goddamned decorations and flowers. "

"No, I didn't let them," Sebastian said, running a hand through his hair.

"Smythes don't let other people pay in their own homes. Jesus, I thought you knew that – Sebastian do you remember nothing I've told you?!"

Sebastian didn't bother to try to respond, there was no point when his father was like this. There was nothing he could say that could be satisfactory. He just picked up his trash bag again and continued to pick up cans and bottles. He spoke calmly, really hoping the tongue lashing was over. "Again, I'm sorry. Are you staying the night?"

He watched his father stride up the stairs. "No, I'm just getting my ski things. I'm leaving tomorrow for Whistler."

_With Sally_, Sebastian guessed. Sebastian liked Sally well enough, but it didn't stop him from resenting her at the same time.

While his father was upstairs packing a bag, Sebastian swung the door to the kitchen open to check in on Blaine. "He's upstairs getting some stuff, but he's leaving, thank god." he said apologetically. "You okay in here?" Blaine walked over to the door and looked up at Sebastian. He gave his hand a squeeze and Sebastian looked down at him with an appreciative smile.

He heard his father coming down the stairs so he ducked back out to the entry hall. His father walked past him without a word, heading to the kitchen.

Sebastian quickly followed him, gritting his teeth and hoping Blaine didn't have a heartattack at his father storming in on him.

But Blaine was calmly drinking his water as they two Smythes burst in. Sebastian sighed in relief when his father sailed through the room without a word and went out the door to the garage.

"He must be getting his skis," Sebastian said. "I'm sorry you had to hear all that."

"Don't worry about me," Blaine said, "I'm just sorry he isn't nicer to you."

Sebastian gave his arm a squeeze.

Mr. Smythe returned shortly, carrying his skis.

"Need a hand with that?" Blaine asked politely and bravely.

"No, thanks," Mr. Smythe said briskly.

Sebastian held the swinging door open for him and rolled his eyes at Blaine before heading back out to the entry hall.

"The door." his father commanded. Sebastian was already in front of him to open and hold the door open, follow him out, and wordlessly help his father strap the skis on top of the car.

"I fly back to Stanford tomorrow," he mentioned casually as they headed back in the house. _In case you care where the hell I ever am._

"I have been meaning to ask you how it went last quarter," his father said, turning to face him with his arms crossed across his chest.

Sebastian was cringing internally, kicking himself for offering his own head up on a platter. "Good. Most of my classmates and I agreed that everyone we've talked to had a rocky start to the quarter – all the freshmen seemed to – but that it ended up okay."

"Stop beating around the bush, Sebastian. What were your grades? And don't lie to me. I know when you are lying to me."

Sebastian decided to just rip off the band-aid. He spit out robotically: "Calculus, A; Engineering, B; Literature, B+; History, A-"

His father hit the roof. "How do you expect to get into Harvard Business school with those grades? They are already going to think your grades don't mean as much because they are from Stanford Sunshine University." He ran his hand through his hair in the exact same way Sebastian had and spoke in agitation. "If you would have just gone to Harvard…who doesn't accept an admissions offer from Harvard?!"

Sebastian folded his arms low across this body. "Dad, it's over. I'm enrolled at Stanford. Enough."

"And if you would just go pre-law you wouldn't have to take those inane math and science classes."

Sebastian didn't bother answering, looking at his father squarely in the eye. Blaine, peeking through the crack between the doorjamb and the swinging door, looked on in awe.

"You told me you could handle that double major. You said you could do it, Sebastian. When are you ever going to listen to me?!" Mr. Smythe complained. "You went and joined a bunch of your ridiculous clubs, didn't you?"

Sebastian was still silent, restraining himself from rolling his eyes.

"Didn't you? Answer me, young man. I'm paying for that expensive school and all of your designer clothes and that car and I want to know what you've been doing there."

Sebastian took a deep breath. "Yes. I joined some clubs to give me an outlet to manage stress and blow off some steam. I made first string on the lacrosse team, I'm the choreographer and I'm going to be a soloist in an acapella group, I joined a triathlon team and I joined the fencing team. But I'm dropping fencing next quarter so I can get a Smythe report card."

"I should hope so." Mr. Smythe said. "But what the hell were you thinking, doing all that on top of four courses? Since when does a Smythe need so many goddamn 'outlets to manage stress?' You may as well have handed in your ticket to business school. How could you have thought it possible for you to get Smythe grades with all those time-sucking extracurriculars? I thought you'd learned something at Dalton about that. Have some sense, Sebastian!"

"I did learn at Dalton, Dad. I made the grades to be valedictorian while I did lacrosse, fencing, debate, drama, soccer and was captain of the Warblers."

"Sebastian, I certainly hope you don't trot out your little high school accomplishments like that to other people – you sound incredibly conceited. At any rate Stanford isn't Dalton and you should have known that. You have to THINK before you leap, Sebastian – I swear you still act like you're five years old sometimes. And I told you that your arrogance would catch up with you – so there you have it. Don't screw up again, do you understand?"

Sebastian didn't answer, just kept his arms crossed his midsection and bit his lower lip.

"And don't go getting yourself an STD up in San Francisco, and don't get in with the wrong crowd at Stanford. If you get implicated in something like that steroid business again, business school admissions offices will catch wind of it. They do google and social media checks on their admits now."

"Dad I didn't take the steroids, you know that. And I track my tags on Facebook and everywhere else and keep it very clean."

"Stop talking back to me, Sebastian – how is it possible that you are more disrespectful now that you are technically an adult? It doesn't matter if you took the steroids or not. You were surrounded by it and you didn't tell anyone about it. If you get implicated with another skeevy character, you're going to get in more trouble."

Sebastian grew quiet, not wanting to be accused of talking back.

"Sebastian, you're 18 now – you're supposed to be a grown man – act like one." Mr. Smythe opened the front door, his bag on this shoulder. "And make sure you pay for those cleaners – don't let Richard Anderson pay."

And with that, he was gone, the door slamming shut behind him.

Sebastian stood staring at the closed door, his arms now crossed over his chest.

Blaine came out cautiously, walking up behind Sebastian and gently laying a hand on his forearm.

Sebastian didn't move, but he said, "And that, my dear Watson…is my father."

Blaine stared at the door and said, "Damn, he's a bigger asshole than I thought."

Sebastian finally looked at him with a pained smile. "That's some mouth on you Anderson. I've officially completely corrupted you. I'm so proud."

Blaine was still pissed. "I'm sorry, but I just can't believe he treats you like that, he didn't really hear anything you had to say, and he can't seem to value what you..."

Sebastian said stiffly, "Can we not talk about him? He's just not worth it. We had such a good night, let's not let him ruin it."

"Of course," Blaine said anxiously. "Do you want to go for a walk? I was looking out the kitchen windo ws and there's an amazing moon out tonight, even if it's playing hide and seek with the storm clouds. "

Sebastian nodded and they bundled up before stepping outside. Outside the moon was indeed peeking brightly between large clouds. There were drifts of snow across the huge lawn separating the Smythe mansion from gardens and the rest of the well-lit Motta estate across the way, but the gardeners had dug paths around the perimeters. The tree branches and the skeletons of bushes were outlined and covered in white.

They walked in a silence for a several minutes, until Blaine spoke up first. "This vacation went by fast," he remarked.

Sebastian held up a hand, his voice still tense. "Is this the beginning of a weepy goodbye? Because I just can't tonight…"

Blaine looked at his brave, handsome face sympathetically. "No, no. I was just thinking about what a great time it's been. I promise I'll stop there."

Sebastian nodded silently.

"I mean this vacation didn't have the Top of the Mark or the Golden Gate Bridge or Hollywood, but it was home and I loved it. It was being with my family and my best friends during my favorite time of year. I got to do pretty much everything I love doing here, and then some."

"Everything except ice skating," Sebastian remarked.

"Except ice skating, but instead we had the most fun party I've ever been to – singing all those songs, being surrounded by pretty much everyone I love for my birthday. Thank you again for that."

Sebastian gave him a small, fond smile and nodded.

Blaine swallowed and looked brave, picking up their walking pace at the same time. "And I'm going to remember Grandmother Fondeur's advice and cherish tonight and these two weeks for what they are – wonderful memories that can strengthen me, not make me sad. I'll take all this love back to Scotland to bolster my spirits to enjoy the wonderful opportunity I have there. I am going to be thankful it was restful and fun and comforting and everything a vacation should be."

"That sounds just right, Killer." Sebastian said, heartened by Blaine's courage. His mood lifted a bit as the snow and pebbles on the path crunched under their feet.

They had reached the edge of the Motta estate.

Blaine stopped and stared at the Motta mansion. "Man, it seems like a dream, the last time I was there…"

Sebastian nodded, raising his eyebrows. "It was quite a weekend."

Blaine chuckled. "I was so mad at you for coming back and stirring up trouble."

"You know that's a specialty of mine," said Sebastian, smirking in spite of himself.

"You confused the hell out of me," Blaine said with a smile, shaking his head. "You were so annoying, lecturing me and being a nuisance with Cooper; but then you rolled in that bar cart of sheet music, including 'Wonderland.' And later you said you bought that bar where we sang it? Did you really do that?"

"Yes," Sebastian said with small smile. "We've been working on the business plan since September. Trent's dad is sending me a more remodel estimates to review next month. I wasn't going to say anything to you until we reopened it." He raised his eyebrows impishly.

"Awww, that's amazing," Blaine said with a smile. He started walking again. "Of course the only reason I was annoyed with you was because you were speaking the truth I didn't want to hear. You called me on all my perfectionist BS." He glanced over at Sebastian. "Have you noticed I've been working on that? I'm not as obsessed with my grades at the RC, I haven't been taking on as much…I've been trying to just…let go more."

"Yes on all counts," Sebastian acknowledged. "And you've been using less gel in your hair," he added, smriking.

"Yeah, I guess not." Blaine chuckled. "And I tried not to overreact to everything my dad said to me during the holidays. I look back on high school now and see that it was silly - trying to be perfect for him, always comparing myself to Cooper." He laughed as he continued. "Though now I have to compare myself to you, and it's no contest. You're my dad's favorite by a mile! "

Sebastian let out a laugh. "Oh, it's easy for him to hang with me because he doesn't have to worry about me – I'm not his kid to screw up. That," he shook his head with a sardonic smirk, "would be a job for Mr. William J. Smythe. And he's doing a bang-up job."

Blaine hooked his arm in Sebastian's and looked at him with love. Sebastian immediately opened his mouth to say something.

But Blaine spoke first. "NOT pitying you." Sebastian gave him a wry smile. "In fact," Blaine continued with conviction, " I was thinking of how much I admire you for being the bigger man and not blowing up at him."

They walked on in silence for a minute, looking at the moon. "Spending time with your family on vacation just makes him seem ten times worse than he is," Sebastian said with a trace of remorse. Then he shrugged his shoulders. "But it is what it is."

Blaine was still troubled. "I guess so. It just makes me so upset that he talks to you like that. Especially since it's so clear that you love him and that you treat _him_ respectfully…"

Sebastian said ruefully. "Well, I wasn't always very respectful. I was quite a snotty, rebellious brat for a long time."

"But can't he see how much you've grown?"

"Blaine, I hardly see him – a couple of times a year, _maybe_. When I do see him he's too busy issuing orders to stop and actually look at me or notice much about me. Except when he wants to pick on my appearance. I'm actually quite surprised he didn't tell me tonight that my hair looks like Pat Riley's or that my clothes look cheap. I guess the disgraceful report card distracted him." He shrugged again. "But it doesn't matter. I've learned not to let it get to me too much."

It started to snow but neither of them took much notice, too wrapped up in their conversation to care.

"Your hair looks nothing like Pat Riley's. I can't believe he picks on your appearance, when you are objectively so handsome," Blaine said stoutly. "He needs to stop and appreciate who you are now. If he did, I would think he should be proud…"

Sebastian's eyes softened. As Blaine continued talking, Sebastian stopped them under a barren tree that provided no shelter from the snow. He pulled his cap off to dust the snow off of it, giving Blaine a sideways glance.

_[to see what our boys looked like in this moment, see imgurDOTcom/mGl59uz and imgurDOTcom/FMrOKic or the archiveofourown version of this fic]_

Blaine was speaking earnestly, staring off through the snow in the distance. "You're so smart and talented, you work so hard, you take such good care of your grandmother, you have beautiful manners, you're so brave and passionate and you're not afraid to do or say what you think is right. And you're so good to your friends…" He added impulsively, "You're so good to me. You managed to take care of me while I was 5000 miles away. And now I have to leave you tomorrow… " his big eyes grew sad. "Ugh, I miss you already."

Sebastian thought Blaine was the sweetest sight he had ever seen. He had such a vital, loving quality about him that Sebastian always marveled at. He focused on any redeeming qualities Sebastian had and looked past all the ways he was a tremendous idiot and jerk. He couldn't believe Blaine chose to spend so much time with him.

Blaine blushed as he realized he broke his promise about weepy goodbyes. He concluded resolutely, "Your father is an idiot. You are wonderful. You deserve better treatment."

Sebastian turned and put his arms around him, pulling a surprised Blaine close. Next he pressed their foreheads together, looked into Blaine's eyes and said in a low voice, "I _do _get better treatment. I have you."

"You do," Blaine breathed back. Sebastian's lips hovered inches from his.

"And you have me," Sebastian whispered.

In the next moment their eyes fluttered closed and they found each other in a kiss both urgent and lingering. They lingered until that moment was theirs, belonging just to the two of them. They lingered to surrender to that most intimate and most thrilling, most dizzying and most ardent, most passionate and most delicate of moments.

Sebastian had never felt so invincible and fragile at the same time – his hand slid up to Blaine's curls while his other arm held him fast by the waist, as if he were his ballast. Everything was melting away in a rush of emotion and adrenaline: the feelings of failure and disappointment; all the terrible mistakes he'd made; the exhausting years of holding up walls around him. None of it mattered if he could hold and kiss Blaine, whose heart was made of something precious he'd never encountered before. Sebastian felt fairly certain he would never be able to fully express how he really felt about Blaine, but he knew he would spend his life trying.

Blaine clutched at Sebastian's coat lapels with both hands, feeling dizzy, turned sideways and oddly grounded all at the same time. Even while the kiss made him feel like he was rocketing off his heels, he felt like he had finally come home. The years of working to please everyone else, trying too hard and floating felt finally over. All he could feel was this beautiful, unexpected man slotting into his body, into his being, into his life in an exquisite way he never knew possible. He was blissed out and drunk on the taste of Sebastian, yet fervently determined to kiss him back with all the passion and love he deserved.

So Blaine was the one who parted their lips first, his tongue urgently licking into Sebastian's mouth. Sebastian responded with intensity, their tongues mingling and their lips kissing to convey what they couldn't say with words. The snow was coming down more heavily but neither of them noticed, the rush of emotions overwhelming them and leaving no awareness but the press of their lips and their bodies together and the pounding in their chests.

They finally parted to catch their breath, staring at each other, lips still parted, eyes bright yet overwhelmed. A moment later they broke into sweet smiles and laughter. "Ok, kissing you is even better without 15 of our friends watching," Sebastian laughed, taking a deep breath.

Blaine nodded breathlessly, smiling shyly. He couldn't even talk, he was so dazed. He threw his head back and closed his eyes, trying to get his bearings.

Sebastian gazed at the dark curls sparkling with snow, the gorgeous skin, the swollen, reddened lips; the dark fringe of lashes with a few snowflakes glistening on them. All he ever wanted, right there - finally, inconceivably, wanting him.

Without warning Sebastian's mouth captured Blaine's again. He pushed him up against the tree trunk, one hand on the back of his neck again and the other unabashedly grabbing Blaine's ass. Blaine thought he was going to explode as they kissed roughly and Sebastian's knee came between his legs and he started grinding him into the tree. It was so much Sebastian everywhere and Blaine felt himself radiating with desire and exhilaration.

But then suddenly he was gone. Blaine opened his eyes and saw Sebastian's handsome face looking serious, hovering just a few inches above him. "I'm sorry," he said breathlessly, his green eyes dark. "I just couldn't help myself…But…" he panted, "I don't want to mess this up…do we need to talk? Should we…"

"Shhh, stop worrying, Gorgeous. And please don't stop..." Blaine said urgently, grabbing him by the scarf to kiss him again, all tongue and lips and wet and heat rushing everywhere again.

"Oh thank god…"Sebastian breathed into ear, grinding into him again. "I don't want to ever, ever stop. "

Blaine groaned, and popped Sebastian's coat buttons open to slip his hands underneath his coat and around his waist to pull him closer. His hands migrated down to Sebastian's ass and he sighed at how delicious it felt.

"Fuck, Killer." Sebastian murmured, moving on to kissing as much of Blaine's neck as he could while loosening his scarf. "I want you so much," he whispered urgently.

"I want you so much, too," Blaine breathed. "Let's go back to the house, then."

"But I want you right now," Sebastian snarled, ripping the scarf off of his neck.

"We'll get frostbite!" Blaine laughed and started walking hurriedly down the path, Sebastian still attached to his neck, their arms wrapped around each others' waists. He giggled as Sebastian bit and nibbled his neck. "Come on, hurry up!"

Sebastian's head popped up and he laughed too, but he started nibbling on Blaine's ear again next, making it just as awkward for them to walk. Then he almost tripped when Blaine's hand slipped under his coat again, this time yanking his shirt up to run his hand over the bare skin of his lower back and under his belt. "Fuck this walking shit," he hissed, sprinting for home, dragging a laughing Blaine behind him.

They got to the front door breathless and Sebastian fumbled through his coat for a key and fitted it into the lock. He glanced up as he turned the key and caught Blaine looking tenderly at him. He gave Blaine a questioning look. "B, I need to you to be totally honest – because I'll figure it out if you're not. I need you to stop and ask yourself – are you giving in to me here because you feel sorry for me tonight?"

Blaine looked at him like he was crazy. "Are you kidding me? No way. No, no no. No, not for a split second have I been thinking of you and your father while kissing you and groping you." He laughed merrily.

Sebastian had to laugh too, feeling foolish.

Blaine arched his back against the door and gave him a sensual smile. "I've been wanting this since you wrestled me on your bed last week. No, since I caught you in that towel coming out of the shower." Then his voice got low and sexy. "Oh, who am I kidding? I've been wanting this for two years."

The statement went straight to Sebastian's cock. He grabbed Blaine by the waist and started kissing him again, biting on his lower lip, exploring his mouth ardently.

But then it was Blaine's turn to pull back for a moment, with a question of his own. "And you don't just want to do this to make me feel better about saying goodbye tomorrow? Do you think I use you as an emotional crutch?"

"A what?" Sebastian asked breathlessly, as he kissed his way down Blaine's neck. Then he looked up with serious green eyes. "No, this isn't a pity thing, absolutely not." He kissed Blaine tenderly on the mouth again. "I want you…" he kissed, "I've always wanted you…" he kissed some more, "no matter…" he kissed him on the neck again, "what mood..." he kissed behind his ear, "you're in."

Blaine moaned as Sebastian kissed up the other side of his neck. Blaine pulled out the front of Sebastian's shirt and slipped his hand under it again, this time to glide over his abs. "You are the sexiest man alive, I swear," he whispered wantonly.

Sebastian's expression turned to one of unbridled lust. He slammed Blaine against the door, pinning him by the wrists. He started kissing him fiercely and Blaine kissed ferociously right back. Sebastian ripped Blaine's coat open, rubbing their hard-ons together while Blaine whined deliciously. "Damn, I love the noises you're making," Sebastian whispered into his mouth.

Blaine kissed down Sebastian's neck and his hands slipped under the coat and onto his lower back, under his shirt, then on to his ass. Their mouths met again in a heated kiss before Sebastian palmed Blaine, groaning in disbelieving pleasure about what he was doing and how rock-hard Blaine was feeling. Blaine felt dizzy and bit into Sebastian's neck.

After a few minutes of being blown by the snow flurries, Sebastian finally took a moment to think straight and finally open the door, Blaine nearly falling as they stumbled their way through the threshold. Sebastian closed the door and Blaine pushed him against it, kissing him at a slow, romantic pace as they pulled off their coats and kicked off their snowy shoes and socks, their bodies pressed together tightly.

Blaine's felt high, smelling Sebastian's cologne and sweat and pheromones . Then suddenly he found himself literally swept off his feet as Sebastian lifted him into his arms, kissing him passionately as he carried him up the giant dark red carpeted staircase, taking two steps at a time.

When they reached his bedroom Sebastian kicked the door open and crashed them both onto the bed. Finally they were in bed together, doing exactly what they should be doing in bed together. In a surprise move, Blaine then rolled them over so he could straddle Sebastian, leaning over to attack his hot mouth with kisses, combing his fingers through his hair and grinding their hard-ons together.

Blaine taking control like that was sexier than he ever thought it would have been - Sebastian almost came right then and there. And just when he thought it might not get better, Blaine tried to rip off his shirt while he kissed the skin he could access on his neck and shoulders. Blaine Anderson was ripping his clothes off. Was he dreaming?

"Why do you buy such well-made clothes?" Blaine laughed, kissing each beauty spot he could find in on his neck and collarbone and chest. "If this was a Gap shirt I would have been able to tear the buttons right off."

Sebastian was too busy unbuckling Blaine's belt to answer.

Eventually the shirt was completely undone and Blaine thought he was coming undone himself at the sight of Sebastian's bare torso. He started kissing him and gliding his fingertips all over his taut abs, sexy muscled arms, smooth chest. He panted, "God Seb, you're so beautiful, I've been wanting to do this for forever…" He stopped to take a nipple with his teeth and take Sebastian's cock in hand at the same time, causing his Sebastian to arch up and grip him by his dark curly locks.

Blaine slid back up Sebastian's body and pressed their hard-ons desperately together again as he was stripped of his own shirt. In no time their pants and boxer briefs were disposed of as well and they were moaning as their completely bare bodies met for the first time.

Blaine whispered fiercely,"Fucking _TAKE _me, Seb."

And with that Sebastian flipped them and slammed Blaine against the headboard as he started to devour him, from his tender mouth to his neck to his shoulders, arms, chest and strong abs. Sebastian hands gripped roughly, not holding back an ounce of his desire. Hands were also roaming everywhere, thighs pressing, hard-ons sliding desperately together. Sebastian worked his mouth again down Blaine's chest, licking and nipping and kissing until he was gripping his tiny waist as he reached his highly desired target.

Sebastian licked and sucked and cupped until Blaine bucked up into his mouth. Blaine thought he was going to lose his mind in pleasure. After a few minutes, somehow in his delirium he managed to guide Sebastian back up to kiss his mouth again. He was afraid he would come too soon and wanted to feel closer to him, holding him tightly and kissing him as tears came to his eyes. Their hands were everywhere at once again, gripping and massaging and stroking and Blaine couldn't track any of it and didn't care.

"Blaine, Blaine…" Sebastian said softly as he rolled Blaine on top of him. He couldn't get enough of Blaine's ass and he thought he was going to drown in everything he was feeling. Then his hands and his chest started to tremble a bit and Blaine stopped for a moment. "Are you okay?"

Sebastian's eyes were closed. "Yes. Yes…I'm sorry, it's must just be…"

"What is it, baby?" Blaine asked, kissing his cheek and his chest and holding his hands tightly.

Sebastian's green eyes opened, looking vulnerable. He whispered, "It's probably just…it's probably just that I can't believe…I can't believe it's you."

Blaine stroked his hair, whispering "I know, I can't believe it's you, either. But I'm not going anywhere. I'm right here. I'm yours."

"And I'm yours," Sebastian said breathlessly as he regained his composure, kissing intensely until Blaine was trembling for breath himself. Sebastian then slowly, teasingly started sucking all over Blaine's body, claiming every part of him and smiling against his skin while Blaine moaned with each lick and nip and suck. Then he flipped Blaine over to kiss every inch of the back of his neck, his shoulders, his back. He lingered at his lower back and where the swell of his ass began, and kissed him all over each cheek before moving up to rub his aching hard-on between them.

"Please...Seb. I want you inside…" Blaine moaned.

Sebastian felt drunk as he reached over to the bedside table and pulled the lube from the drawer. He whispered, "Do you want me to wear a condom? I swear I'm clean and there's been no one but the fantasy of you in my bed."

"I trust you," Blaine whispered back, drunk on the idea of Sebastian fantasizing about him in bed. "And all I do in bed is touch myself while I think of you."

Sebastian loved hearing that too, getting harder as he started to coat himself but Blaine stopped him, wanting to be the one to feel his cock in his hands. His eyes were sultry as he stroked and slicked him up and down. Eventually Sebastian had to desperately ask him to stop so he wouldn't come.

He barely held himself together as he prepped Blaine, probably for longer than necessary. Blaine grew impatient, but Sebastian felt he couldn't be too gentle if Blaine hadn't had sex for months. Blaine writhed and moaned his name in the sexiest way all the while, begging him so desperately that Sebastian thought he might come just from watching him.

Nothing could have prepared either of them for how it felt for Sebastian to enter Blaine - it was surreal, then painful, then incredibly intense and more than anything, beautifully intimate. Neither of them knew they could feel so close to each other and it felt unbelievable. Wordlessly Blaine signaled to Sebastian to move and suddenly there was so much sensation and so much heat. He felt like he was on fire, yet he was shuddering with want and pleasure and need and desire until there are no more thinking to do because all it was was blindingly, white, hot.

Blaine found himself surrounded with more love and beauty and Sebastian than he ever found imaginable. Then Blaine looked up and was reminded of the splendor and magnificence that was the visual of Sebastian Smythe, glistening and gorgeous and strong and so fucking sexy…but also looking so desperately in love with him that all Blaine could do at that moment was believe it to be true.

Sebastian had often closed his eyes during a one night stand but tonight he couldn't stop looking at Blaine Anderson, completely undone, debauched and looking like the definition of sex in his arms. With every thrust Blaine's beautiful eyes looking up at him adoringly, making him feel the best he had ever been and making him want to do anything for him. Blaine was so tight and hot all around him, meeting him with every thrust and drag and push until he felt almost drugged.

He thought he couldn't breathe and he didn't mind if he had to die like this, even though what he really wanted was for it to never, ever end.

"Fuck Blaine, this is everything," he moaned pushing into him again and again at a more and more intense rhythm. "So, SO perfect…"

"Yes...sooo...amazing," gasped out Blaine, thrusting up to meet him harder and harder, looking sexier than ever with a thin sheen of sweat all over his body. "God so, so, perfect… and ohh..."

The pleasure made their senses overflow and the emotions so intense that they thought they were going to explode. Sebastian stroked Blaine's cock in time with each increasingly intense thrust, listening to the beautiful sound of Blaine's reactions pushing up against the force building inside him. It past sweet pain to hold on, on, on, until he finally let go when he felt Blaine fall apart beneath him. Vision went white, senses blacked out, and emotions released in a flood as ther orgasms hit them with inconceivable force at nearly the same time.

Sebastian collapsed on top of Blaine, breathing heavily. After a minute or two, Blaine whimpered, "Don't go…" as Sebastian pulled out and kissed his cheek before landing face down next to him, a long arm wrapping around Blaine's waist.

"Sorry babe, I just don't want to crush you."

"I know…I just loved how you felt inside me."

"Yes, god I know."

They basked in the beautiful energy of the moment for a few minutes. Blaine was the first speak up, staring at the ceiling. "Wow, I can't believe we did that."

Sebastian came up from lying on his cheek to lean on his elbows. "Wait, is that a good 'wow' or an 'oh shit I totally regret this wow'?"

"Good, good, good," Blaine chuckled, leaning up to kiss him. "An off-the-charts 'wow.' I just can't believe that after two years we actually did it."

Sebastian smiled at him. "Yeah."

Blaine smiled back at him. "And wow, it was incredible. You live up to your reputation, sir." Then he looked a bit anxious. "Was it good…"

Sebastian smirked and leaned down to kiss him while he ran his fingers through his hair. "Yes I thought it was fucking amazing. We are definitely doing that again," he grinned. "And by the way, your bedhead is so adorable."

Blaine patted his head a bit self-consciously and chuckled. "Yours is, too." Then he looked serious. "And yes, we are definitely doing that again. I'm so glad you want to."

Sebastian furrowed his brow at him. "Did you seriously think I was going to treat this like a one night stand?"

Blaine's eyes were wide. "I don't know…I didn't want to think so…"

Sebastian kissed him again. "No, a thousand times no. In fact, I want to make you moan yes, a thousand times yes." He kissed him again sweetly and glided his hand up Blaine's chest to rub circles around his nipples and trace along his collarbone. "Damn babe, you were making the sexiest sounds ever . I think you should record _that_ on your first studio album. "

Blaine chuckled and hummed, "Mmmm…that feels good. God it feels so good to be so close to you, baby."

"I can't get enough of you," Sebastian murmured, kissing along his arm. "I swear normally I'm sleepy after sex because of how much energy I put into it, but I am fucking pumped with adrenaline I think, after bedding Blaine Devon Anderson." He leaned down and kissed along his hipbone. "And god, you taste so good, I want to eat you for breakfast."

Blaine looked at the clock and sighed. "Oh I don't want it to be Sunday already. I don't want to leave."

Sebastian tweaked his nose. "No weepy goodbyes, remember? We're going to milk the next twelve hours for all it's worth, so don't give up on me now. Because I have a lot more I want to do to you before the sun rises," he grinned a wicked grin as he swept his hand lightly over Blaine's groin, knowing he was probably still sensitive.

Blaine smiled even as he twitched at his touch. Then he leaned himself up to kiss him and whisper in his ear. "God you are so fucking sexy. And don't think we're going to get to sunrise without me fucking you every which way, too."

Sebastian smirked and he rolled onto his back. "Fuck, Killer – you are full of surprises…"

Blaine grinned at him before he rolled him over gently onto his chest and straddled him. "Well after my surprise party it seems like the least I can do," he said, kissing down his spine as he cupped his ass with his hands.

It wasn't too long before they commenced on Round 2; and Round 3; and Round 4; which included the Diva costume that Sebastian made Blaine fetch from the "backstage area" downstairs; and Round 5, which included the Dalton blazer and tie that Blaine brought up as well from downstairs.

At around 6AM they were getting hungry, but neither of them had any desire to get out of bed. Blaine lay on top of Sebastian, whispering tenderly, "I can't believe I get to be with you." He kissed a trail down Sebastian's neck. "That first time at the Lima Bean…when you told me you'd lived in Paris…I think that was the first time I had a dirty thought about you."

Sebastian smirked, closed his eyes and arched his neck back to give him better access. "You liar. You've been wanting me since I went after you like a wolf during 'Uptown Girl.'"

Blaine smiled broadly into his neck, "Ok, maybe on some subconscious level, yes – maybe even since then," he blushed.

Sebastian felt the heat on Blaine's face and pulled back to look at him with a smile, "There's my blushing schoolboy…fuck yes." He kissed into Blaine's mouth, one hand sliding all over his bare back, the other cupping his ass.

Blaine groaned as Sebastian's mouth licked and nipped down his neck again. "Ok yeah..I thought you were hot the minute I saw you…" He brought Sebastian's face up to kiss him tenderly and smile at him. "You made my life so confusing, because I couldn't do anything about it..."

"You _wouldn't_ do anything," Sebastian smirked. "I got so pissed that you wouldn't give in," he laughed, stopping to press his forehead into Blaine's cheek. "Now I know you wouldn't be you if you had given in...but god it's been torture waiting."

"I know, I know," soothed Blaine, stroking Sebastian's cheek. "Thank you for waiting."

"Totally worth it," Sebastian said with a sweet smile.

Blaine gave him an affectionate kiss and they lay in contented silence for a few minutes. Then Blaine rolled off of Sebastian and sat up slowly. "Are you as hungry as I am? We can get those party leftovers…"

"No, no, no," Sebastian said, rolling to the side to put his head in Blaine's lap. "Our first after-sex breakfast can't be leftover fingerfood. I'll call that boutique inn down the road and pay double to have them deliver something good."

"Mmm…you sure know how to treat a guy," Blaine hummed, tracing a finger up and down Sebastian's bicep. "You are so good to me."

Sebastian reached up to pull him down for a kiss. "I love spoiling you, nothing makes me happier. Well, almost nothing…" he stroked Blaine's thigh seductively.

Blaine laughed at him. "Well I'm going to at least get something to drink." He wiggled out from under Sebastian and got up to find his undershirt and put it on.

Sebastian got up and strode across the room after him. "See, that's not helping your plan to get out of bed, babe. Because you still have no pants on and so I got to enjoy the view from across the room of your incredible ass and now you've put on that wife beater that you box in and now all I can think about is my fantasy of pinning you on the floor of a boxing ring…" He put his arms around Blaine from behind and started nibbling his neck again and palming his ass.

"Oh, Seb…come on…I'm thirsty."

"But you see…" Sebastian said into his neck, "I don't care about that." He picked Blaine up and dumped him on the bed before jumping on him and wrestling him into submission. They starting kissing again and Round 6 began.

_[See the boys in bed: imgurDOTcom/bZ214t5]_

* * *

"Okay, before you attack me again, you have to order breakfast. If we are really going to continue a marathon sex session we need our nourishment, we have to pace ourselves," Blaine said, grinning during the afterglow of Round 6. "Or if we want to go do something else today…" he paused for Sebastian to roll his eyes, "then we need energy for that, too."

So Sebastian ordered breakfast and it arrived after Round 7. They ate it in bed, still wrapped in sheets and dropping crumbs everywhere.

"I can't believe you are such a neat freak about your car, but this doesn't bother you," laughed Blaine.

"I love the smell of food and sex together," Sebastian drawled, feeding him a strawberry.

Blaine's eyes twinkled and he reached over to pat Sebastian's ass as he swallowed the bite of strawberry. "You can be so hedonistic, I love that about you. You remind me to take pleasure in my life. And god you know how to give pleasure to me…" He leaned over for a kiss.

As their lips parted, Sebastian's eye landed on his suitcase, which he had brought over from the Andersons to pack a few things from his closet at home. Reality started setting in. He sat up.

"Hey B?"

"Yes?" Blaine smiled at him.

"We should probably talk about stuff, huh?"

Blaine sobered instantly. "Yeah, I we do…"

"Ugh…" Sebastian fell flat on his back in bed. "You do know I'm going to suck at this, right?"

Blaine laughed and leaned over to kiss him lightly on the lips. "I think you're going to be better at it than you think."

"Mmmm…you taste like strawberry. Mmmm…" Sebastian pulled Blaine on top of him.

* * *

"Okay, I think we have to get dressed before we have our talk, because naked talking is just going to end in THAT, again. "

"What's so wrong with 'THAT'? You nearly pulled my hair out because you loved THAT so much," Sebastian chuckled. "And what round are we on, anyway?"

"If we've lost count than I think we've gone too many rounds," Blaine laughed. "Normal people don't do this. I'm starting to think you are some kind of superhero who just acts like college student Sebastian Smythe by day."

Sebastian said with a wink, "You are correct. I am a superhero (my superpower is the ability to have mind-blowingly amazing sex with Blaine Anderson). And you forget that you too are not an ordinary, normal person, you are an extraordinary and flawless person."

"You old flatterer, you. Now we have to get dressed!" Blaine said, bouncing off the bed and opening the suitcase. "Do you want running clothes? I think you've gotten plenty of cardio for the day, if you asked me," he laughed. "But maybe running in the cold will cool you off so you don't attack me while we're trying to have our little chat."

"Yeah, like you haven't been doing your fair share of attacking," Sebastian rolled his eyes, "But okay, throw me some running clothes, I do want to have one more look at the lake before I leave town."

"You're so sentimental about the lake, I love that. You have the entire Pacific Ocean at your disposal in California!"

Sebastian chuckled. "It's my lake, deal with it."

Blaine pitched Sebastian's cold weather running gear at him. "Ick...I hate the feel of that nylon. That dry-touch synthetic Nike stuff is definitely enough to make sure we don't go another round," he joked.

Sebastian got up and put his hands on Blaine's shoulders, whispering in his ear, "Really? Because I could use it to tie you up again…"

Blaine batted him away as he zipped up his own pants. "You are hopeless." Then he turned to put his arms around his waist and kiss him. "Get dressed and go for your run then, and we'll see where we are on time when you get back. Maybe after our talk we can squeeze in another round." He grabbed Sebastian's ass and winked at him.

"No scheduled intercourse!" Sebastian complained, as he swaggered towards the bathroom. "Totally not sexy." After he brushed his teeth and got dressed, Sebastian emerged to find Blaine at his antique piano in the music room attached to the bedroom. He was composing a song with the piano and some blank music paper he had found on a shelf. Sebastian sat down next to him on the piano bench and gave him a leisurely, romantic kiss.

As he pressed their foreheads together, Blaine whispered, "Your kisses make me so breathless."

Sebastian's eyes were closed. "I didn't know kissing or sex could feel like this."

Blaine whispered back, "Me neither."

Eventually Sebastian turned to the piano. "So, genius burns?"

"I don't know about that, but I have the beginning of something..." I'll play it for you when it's further along. Then he played a few bars of "Not Alone," smiling shyly at Sebastian. "You know I was thinking of you when I wrote that."

Sebastian raised his eyebrows and smiled softly. "B, I don't know what to say. I'm so..touched."

Blaine smiled at him. "See? You _do_ know how to talk about your feelings."

Sebastian smirked at him. "But it's so much more fun to communicate with you non-verbally." He got up and slowly coaxed Blaine to lie sideways on the piano bench before Sebastian straddled him and leaned down for passionate kiss. Round 8 was a memorable session on the piano.

* * *

"Ok, I'm _really_ going for my run now, " Sebastian grinned, kissing Blaine on the forehead, pulling out of him and standing up."

"No, don't go baby..." Blaine gave him a pleading look with liquid hazel eyes, lying sated and looking boneless on the piano bench.

Sebastian started putting on his running clothes again. "B, if you give me the puppy dog eyes we're going to end up running out of time to even get your luggage from your parents' house."

Blaine sat up, hugged his knees and pouted. "Fine, fine…go ahead and be reasonable...I hate it when you're right."

Sebastian gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "I know...but it which means lots of hate sex, which neither of us would mind. Now write something brilliant while I'm gone."

And with that, he got in the Mercedes and drove out to the lake. He played Blaine's CD of original songs all the way there, eventually putting this song on repeat:

youtubeDOTcom/watch?v=5PQe4V5bK8g

_...I could write you a poem Shakespeare or Cole would have called their own_

_But everything changes now that you're mine_

_And all of my words are left behind_

_Cause no matter how hard I try my tongue is still tied by you _

_I just wanna tell you I love you, but it's the hardest thing to say_

_I turn my head upside down, trying find some kinda way_

_Just to tell you I need you, in a way that will be heard,_

_I try to be a poet, but since I met you, I've never been good with words_

_Just to be specific and be explicit, never thought I'd concentrate_

_Do you have any idea what it's like to feel something you just can't articulate?_

_But baby now that I've heard, the trick to the verse, could have done for you_

_But everything changes now that you're mine_

_All of my words are left behind_

_Cause no matter how hard I try, my tongue is still tied by you_

_…There's only so many different ways_

_There's only so many only old cliches._

_That I can do, so what can I do,_

_Tell me what can I do  
_

_I just wanna tell you I love you, but it's the hardest thing to say_

_I turn my head upside down, trying find some kinda way_

_Just to tell you I need you, in a way that will be heard,_

_I try to be a poet, but since I met you_

_I just wanna tell you I love you, but it's the hardest thing to say_

It wasn't until he hit the 2nd mile of his run that reality really set in. Blaine was leaving in a few hours and they were going to have to have "The Talk." _Ugh._

* * *

_Well, there you have it, you met Seb's dad. Okay at this point you guys are probably like, "Seb's Who?"_

_You guys kept asking for smut in reviews and PM etc. etc. so I caved. I've never written it before, I was panicked about it, but I gave it my best shot and my darling reviewers Dori and Thomas and Rose approved it, so I went for it and posted it (earlier than I thought I would, but I wanted to do it ASAP for reviewer Faye!)_

_With all the cockblocks we wrote over the last several chapters, it seemed merited. Hope it was worth the wait! Let me know if it was. Let me know what you think of Seb's characterization - too soft? Believable up against dad? Let me know what you think of Blaine, did I completely disrespect Klaine? I hope not, I root for Klaine in canon. Did you enjoy the fluff in the afterglow I included? I thought about having it be awkward afterwards, because given some of Sebastian's fears about relationships talks, it could have gone that way. But I decided we also deserved some sexy fluff, too. The boys deserved it too, after 4-5 months of pining and stressing out at school, etc. I figured the afterglow can effectively block out the scariness of relationship talks for Sebastian, though ultimately I thought it would be interesting for him to be the one to bring it up again. Personally, I think Blaine is not so great at the relationship stuff as he likes to think he is._

_Any guesses as to where things go from here? We have our plans, but let us know if you have ideas you want to pitch us!_


	14. The Talk

_Author's note: _

_Thanks for all the great reviews and kudos after the last chapter. So happy to make you guys happy with the long-awaited physical union of these two beautiful boys. Shout-out to Kelly thanks for your always insightful and detailed reviews, and I love that you contrasted Seb's bedroom in his opulent house to Mike's parents' bedroom as the setting for their first time. I didn't really even think about what could have been since I never planned for anything to happen at Mike's :). But yes, Seb's room was definitely more intimate and appropriate. _

_As for this chapter: I'm sorry. I say that and yet I love this chapter. That is to say, I think Seblaine is actually really sweet in this chapter, but I'm also sorry. You'll understand once you start reading._

_Finally, a reminder that sentences in italics are their verbatim thoughts (I also still use italics for emphasis as usual). I don't usually like to write a lot of characters' thoughts verbatim, but in this situation it seemed merited._

The small, snow-covered pebbles and rocks crunched on the dirt path around the lake under Sebastian's feet. He ran at a steady, fast pace that his triathlon teammates would have appreciated, yet he was barely aware of his pace or his surroundings because he was so engrossed in reflection on the past two weeks.

He had not planned to walk away from Christmas vacation in this situation. He hadn't really planned anything in this regard – he just knew that he couldn't wait to see Blaine again. If anything, Blaine's despondence around the news of his vocal chord defect led Sebastian to believe that nothing romantic would be in the cards for them over vacation. Blaine would need a friend more than anything else. But almost as soon as they returned home, Blaine's mood had soared. Between Christmas and being surrounded by his beloved family and friends again, Blaine had been buoyed to an infectious level of happiness. And when Blaine was happy, it usually wasn't long before Sebastian was happy, too.

Their happiness, Sebastian deduced, along with a baffling confluence of events, had led to the sex. The off-charts, amazing sex. But he hadn't planned it. If he had, it would have been in a setting Blaine would have wanted and would have deserved - in a suite in Paris on a bed with silk sheets and flower petals. But he knew sex meant a lot more feelings for Blaine than he had ever associated with it, so Sebastian had never been sure about the timing. But probably due to the emotionally charged week and events of the evening, Sebastian had been overwhelmed by his desire to be _that_ close to Blaine. So he had practically attacked him under that tree near the house. And thankfully, Blaine had attacked right back. And then after they had done it once, they ended up doing it again. And again, and again. And again.

He shook himself, wiping sweat from his brow. _FOCUS._ So where did all that great sex leave things? As it turns out, jumping into bed with Blaine had finally illustrated to Sebastian how emotional sex could be. And that is what made things really complicated…this meant they were going to be boyfriends, presumably. What would that look like?

Sebastian slowed his pace temporarily as he zipped his jacket more snugly against the cold.

_You can do this. _ He had taken on countless challenging new endeavors in his life and had successfully mastered them. At age six when he decided he wanted to become the next Gene Kelly, he had learned how to sing despite having no significant natural talent for it. Private lessons and daily practice resulted in being offered solos in the boys choir within a year. Other choirs, the Warblers and Mixed Company followed. When he moved to Paris after the divorce, he had learned how to play lacrosse at age 9. By month three he was outscoring all of his teammates even though they had all been playing since they were 4 or 5. Now he was at Stanford playing first string as a freshman. Just last quarter, even though science had always been a bit tougher for him than other subjects, he had successfully learned more goddamned electrical engineering theories than any college freshman should know.

_You can do this._ L earning to be successful in his relationship with Blaine shouldn't be that different than learning how to be successful in other arenas. Sure, getting as close as he was to Blaine at this point had required a great deal of flying by the seat of his pants. But by this time he surely should be able to identify a concrete goal; determine the nature of any obstacles; gather data and resources necessary; formulate a strategy and a game plan; and execute, checking in at critical milestones to adjust the plan as needed. He would learn what it takes to have a successful relationship, build and hone his skills in those areas, and be the boyfriend Blaine deserved. And it should be so much easier than engineering theories because he loved Blaine and Blaine made everything easier just by existing and, inexplicably, loving him back.

Sebastian enjoyed the familiar stretch of his leg muscles as he accelerated around a bend. He loved running first thing in the morning when his energy was at a peak, even after having all of that epic sex with Blaine all night. Usually a night without sleep left Sebastian haggard, but the adrenaline or whatever natural high he was riding on made him feel as strong and swift as a racehorse. Sebastian's lips curved into smile.

First, what was the goal? What did he want? _More sex with Blaine,_ was his brain's immediate response. Sebastian shook himself again. _FOCUS_. What _else_ did he want? _To marry Blaine_. Yeah, _that_ would go over well - totally stupid idea. That was just a fantasy, not based in anything practical or wise. _Runaway with Me…_

Again, what _else_ did he want? To be the extraordinary boyfriend Blaine deserved. Was that a big enough goal? Maybe ultimately Blaine's happiness was the goal. Yes, that was more important in the big picture. But perhaps that was too broad of a goal? Well that didn't matter, because to Blaine right now, happiness was presumably tied up in having a kick-ass boyfriend.

Or was it? Sebastian thought back to (usually whiskey-induced) discussions he had had with Rob, Santana and Nick this past fall quarter about Blaine. As much as he hated to admit it right now, the consensus had been, at least early on in the fall, that Blaine needed to take a good chunk of time to be by himself. He needed time to find himself as a person without a relationship or the goal of a relationship with Kurt.

By the end of the quarter, Rob had continued to support the idea in his low key way. Rob never expressed his viewpoint in an obnoxious way, but when pressed for an opinion over beers and whiskey shots at a local student bar, he gave it freely – though still in a matter-of-fact, calm manner.

Based on their Yenta-like behavior on during vacation, Nick and Santana clearly no longer agreed that Blaine would be best left boyfriendless. It appeared that Sam felt the same way. But quite frankly, Sebastian thought ruefully, Rob's opinion was more valuable than the others. Rob had actually been in a successful relationship in high school for 2 years before they broke it off amicably just prior to his start at Stanford. Rob was not so excitable and overly romantic. Rob had a lot of sense.

Sebastian mopped sweat off his forehead into his already sweaty hair.

As he reflected on his roommate's opinions, Sebastian found himself fixating on one memory from fall quarter that he could not shake: Rob's questioning eyes. The memory of Rob's eyes when he would (1) see Sebastian pounding out his daily e-mail letter to Blaine or (2) find him dialing in once again for a Skype video call. Rob would periodically ask mildly, without a trace of judgment in his voice: "Man, that's quite a long email there – is that for Blaine again?" or "Video call with Blaine again?" Rob was never one to judge outright or scold the way Nick or Santana would, but Sebastian could surmise that Rob wondered if he was communicating too much with Blaine for their own good.

But what was wrong with communicating often with your best friend? Rob's eyes seemed to ask if it was too much, too soon, when your best friend was recovering from a traumatic break-up. Rob's eyes seemed to ask if it was too much, too soon, when said best friend had just gone off the rails for a school year chasing a Klaine fantasy and the delusion that a perfect marriage would fix everything. Rob's eyes seemed to ask if it was too much, too soon, when you were in love with said best friend, and that there was a decent chance that said best friend was attracted to you.

Sebastian stumbled on a rock he hadn't seen in his path.

Too much, too soon…what was too soon? It had been four and a half months since the almost-wedding. Sebastian had always assumed it would be a full year before Blaine would be ready to date seriously again.

"_I don't think anyone designated a timeline,"_ Santana had said._ "Maybe you did in your head." _

Where did he get that timeframe from?

Then it came rushing back to him. _"Sebastian, this year isn't just about my education and career… what's wrong with taking a year to just find myself a little?"_ Blaine had said it himself on their last night in San Francisco. Blaine had said it himself.

And then Sebastian couldn't keep it in his pants and they had had sex and now Blaine was giving him the gooey eyes and the loverly face.

Sebastian pulled his cap down more firmly. Had the temperature dropped suddenly?

Then it suddenly dawned on him…all this "too much, too soon" business implied that Sebastian might, at least emotionally, be "the rebound guy" - a title he had been trying so damn hard to avoid. He also had to reluctantly admit that sleeping with Blaine last night only would complete his list of duties as "the rebound guy."

But Santana had said he could never be the rebound guy, he reassured himself. He and Blaine had been close before the break-up. They had been too close for him to hold the title of rebound guy. So no, Sebastian repeated to himself, he was not "the rebound guy." If he and Blaine embarked on a romantic relationship at this point, he would not be the rebound guy. He would be the boyfriend.

The long distance boyfriend.

Sebastian felt some queasiness in this stomach. Perhaps he had had too much grease for breakfast.

Ugh. He knew all the clichés – that long distance relationships almost never work; that distance tended to instantly accelerate the demise of any relationship with any holes in it. And if all of this was not depressing enough, the Klaine debacle was a highly relevant example of how long distance relationships can fail hard. It probably wouldn't help matters that one Mr. Sebastian Smythe had exactly zero experience with any kind of romantic relationship.

Could embarking on a long distance relationship right away provide an opportunity for him to screw things up before they really got started? And even worse, could they lead to him losing his best friend entirely? Blaine had said that after three months apart, he felt distant from Kurt. Less engaged with the details of his life. And Blaine had seemed surprisingly relieved about it. He thought it felt peaceful. Would Sebastian end up sharing the same fate as Hummel? That Sebastian concluded, would be the worst outcome of all.

Nina had said love was not complicated. If this wasn't complicated, what the hell was?

He slowed to a stop near a tree, bending over and putting his hands on his knees as he caught his breath.

But he wasn't Hummel, of course. He and Blaine weren't the same. They weren't the same. They definitely weren't the same. They absolutely were not at all the same.

He looked up suddenly when he heard footsteps on the path.

"Hey you," A smiling Blaine appeared a few feet away with a large picnic basket in hand.

Sebastian stood up straight and smiled. Blaine's mere presence and energy already made him feel better about everything. "Hey, you."

Blaine held up the basket. "It's getting late, so I thought I'd bring a picnic out to you. Plus, I know how much you love the lake, so it seems like the best place for our talk. Are you done with your run yet?"

"Yeah," Sebastian said, coming over. He hesitated for a split second and then leaned down to give Blaine a quick kiss , which felt bittersweet "I'm all sweaty," he apologized. Blaine smiled up at him with the adoring look went straight to Sebastian's heart. He wanted to believe that face so much. He took the heavy basket from him and wrapped an arm around Blaine's waist. It felt painfully sweet, knowing they only had so many hours left together. He took a deep breath and led them to a nearby lakeside picnic table. After they swept the snow off the table and Blaine put down cushions for them to sit on, they settled down and unpacked the basket.

The sun shined brightly on them as they laid out the red and white checkered tablecloth; an enormous quanity of fruit, gourmet sandwiches and salads; a bottle of wine and two wine glasses; a thermos of hot chocolate plus another one of hot cider; some of the Smythe family's second best china, and a red rose in a bud vase. "You think of everything, Killer." Sebastian remarked with a fond smile.

"All supplies I found lying around your well stocked kitchen." Blaine smiled, filling the vase with bottled water from the basket.

They started in on the sumptuous picnic in comfortable silence. They looked out over the lake and Sebastian took a deep breath as he drank in the serenity and beauty of the winter sun reflecting across the icy water. Then he glanced over to Blaine and found the visual to be even more lovely. But he was again haunted with the reality that Blaine would be getting on a plane in mere hours. Sebastian took all of his handsome profile in: the angles of his bone structure, the redness of his lips, the texture of his skin, the rosiness of his cheeks, the softness of his eyes. He really wanted to kiss him, but he took a deep breath and kept himself together.

Blaine finally turned to him and spoke up. "So I guess we should have our talk. I feel like we've referred to it so much that we've kind of built it up unnecessarily." He laughed nervously.

"True," Sebastian agreed quietly. He twirled the fork he had poised over a container of pasta salad. "We've been building it up in our heads, but it doesn't have to be a big deal, right?" He rushed to add, "And by that I don't mean that having sex with you…I mean, making love to you…isn't a big deal. I just mean that the talk…"

Blaine reached out and put his hand over Sebastian's. "It's okay…just call it sex. And I'm sorry I jumped down your throat about all of that yesterday."

Sebastian rubbed his forehead, looking down at the table. "That was still a stupid thing to say. I still suck at this."

"You're fine." Blaine reassured him, reaching further to squeeze his arm.

"You are such a liar, or you're being way too easy on me." Sebastian said, smiling in spite of himself. "Still, I was thinking on my run that this can't be _that_ hard. Even if I suck at it now, I can _learn_ how to be better at…" He raised his hands in the air in an incoherent gesture, "…_this."_

"Of course you can, baby." Blaine laughed and came around to the other side of the picnic table to sit beside Sebastian and squeeze his arm.

Sebastian looked at him with love. Blaine always made everything easier and better. He turned to look in his face and leaned on his hand as he smiled at him. "So where do we start with this 'talk' business? I have my own thoughts on the matter, but I think you are better equipped to take the lead on all this. Where do we start?"

Blaine smiled back and looked in his eyes. "Where do we start? Well, the first thing I would imagine we would discuss is something we already covered this morning – that neither of us think that sleeping together was a mistake."

"Definitely not," Sebastian said, waggling his eyebrows.

"Behave," Blaine said, chuckling and smacking his shoulder. "I meant emotionally speaking."

Sebastian was not 100% sure he understood what Blaine meant, but he nodded anyway. "No, there is no aspect of sex with you that I regret. So we can check that off whatever list you might be working off of ."

"There's no 'Relationships for Dummies' checklist we are using here, you nerd." Blaine said with a laugh.

"If there is, I should get one," laughed Sebastian.

Blaine smiled at him again and rolled his eyes. "Okay, so yes, it's good we covered that. No regrets. So I guess we should also talk about what being together like that meant to us, where we want to go from here, what we want to do, how we want things to look in our relationship going forward."

"Ok, you just rattled off your own checklist." Sebastian said, raising his eyebrows. "If it's not from a book, I'm actually kind of impressed."

"Okay, I'll admit that I thought about this a bit while I was showering and cleaning up back at your house." Blaine said sheepishly. He added, "Oh just so you know, Teresa and the crew were there when I went downstairs. She is so nice, she didn't make me feel awkward at all."

"Teresa is the shit."

Blaine smiled, then after a beat he raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "Wait a minute, is Teresa just used to greeting random men coming out of your bedroom in the morning after you've sneaked out to go running?"

Sebastian smirked. "No comment. And I didn't sneak out…you shoved me out the door."

"I beg to differ. You left me naked on a piano bench." Blaine laughed.

Sebastian furrowed his brow. "Oh, that's right. But the first time I got into my running clothes it was only because you made me and then you practically kicked me out."

"Yeah, but the emphasis is on the word '_practically_.' Because before I could get you to leave, you ended up fucking me on your antique piano keys and _then_ left me high and dry," Blaine teased.

"Hey, I thought it would just be a make-out session… you were the one who kicked it up a notch."

Blaine laughed. "We are getting SO off track!"

"Right, right…" Sebastian said, putting on his snobby, prep school airs. "What was next on the checklist, Mr. Anderson?"

Blaine looked thoughtful again. "Umm…What it meant to us, where we want to go from here, what we want to do, how we want things to look in our relationship going forward," he replied. "But not necessarily in that order."

Sebastian pondered the list. "Well, I want to make sure you understand this much, B. I know you think I was some kind of man-whore before we started spending a lot of time together…and I guess I don't blame you. But… I don't want you to think that sex with _you_ didn't mean anything to me. It meant something to me. It meant something to me because…" Sebastian fumbled for what to say, looking out over the lake. "Because I care about you. A lot." He looked down for a few moments before looking up tentatively.

"I care a lot about you, too," Blaine answered earnestly, his eyes looking golden in the winter sunshine. _I love you_, he wanted to say. "And being with you like that meant something to me, too. It meant a lot to me. It was a beautiful way to feel even closer to you than I already felt."

"Exactly," Sebastian said. God you really are a lot better at this than me." He widened his green eyes with mock sincerity. " Can you just…finish this for us? "

Blaine rolled his eyes. "We need two people for this to be a talk. Otherwise it's just a monologue."

"I could just nod whenever I agreed with something you'd said, would that count?" Sebastian grinned at him cheekily.

Blaine hit him with a cloth napkin. "Stop it. Be serious…"

Sebastian smiled at him. He really was going to miss being with him like this. "Okay, so we've established that neither of us regret having sex with each other, and we both feel like the sex made us feel closer to each other." He couldn't resist adding, "Plus I think earlier this morning I think we confirmed that we both thought that the sex was very, very hot."

Blaine giggled, and then tried to look stern. "Stop, this is not a talk about sex - this is a talk about our relationship!" He batted at him again with the napkin.

"Sorry, I just thought it might be worth mentioning that!" Sebastian shielded himself with his hands in defense. "I mean seriously, if in this scenario sex is an expression of something in our relationship, than how good it was probably has _some _relevance, right? Like if we weren't very connected emotionally, the sex wouldn't have been as good, right? Because I'll tell you I've never had sex that emotionally intense before - ever. I think it's a good sign for us, right?"

Blaine looked at him in shock. " Wow Seb…you actually said something…insightful about relationships. " He narrowed his eyes and smirked at him. "Who are you, Sebastian's evil twin?"

Sebastian cocked his head and smirked back. "Of course not. I'm just a quick study."

Blaine smiled. "This bodes well for us. Ok, where we we?"

Sebastian swung his long legs out from under the picnic table and got up to pace the area around the table. "I think we should talk about where we want to go from here." As he considered this he sobered, swallowing and looking out at the lake. "I'll let you start with that one," he said, trying to keep the worry out of his voice.

Blaine shifted a little uncomfortably. He got up and sat on the picnic table, his feet on the bench. "Well…" He swallowed and dove in. "I will start with where I don't want us to go. I don't want us to become 'friends with benefits.'"

Sebastian turned to face him, nodding in agreement. "I'm with you on that. We can't become 'friends with benefits,' 'fuck buddies,' or whatever. I've done that and it does not end well. All the feelings crap always gets in the way."

"'Feelings crap,' really?" Blaine meant for his statement to come out jokingly, but his tone was instead laced with real exasperation. Then to make things worse, he burst out, "And you said 'always'? How many times have you done the 'friends with benefits' thing?" He looked annoyed and felt embarrassed for not keeping his cool.

Sebastian came over immediately and took Blaine's hands. "No, sorry…I didn't mean that all feelings are crap. I like the feelings I have for you, really. It's just at the time, I wanted the actual definition of friends with benefits, I really just wanted to keep things light, but the other guy…ended up not wanting that. So the feelings kind of felt like crap, because they were like a betrayal of an agreement we had. Now I look back on it I can see that he didn't see it coming, and that most normal people really can't have sex without some emotional component. But at the time I didn't know…" He floundered as he saw that Blaine was avoiding his eyes. "Shit, I know you think I'm a total asshole now. It was when I was 16, Blaine – right before I moved back to Ohio. I was so stupid then… please believe that I love how I feel about you." _Please know somehow that I love you, _he thought_. _"I've really learned from my idiotic past, you have to believe me."

Blaine took a deep breath. "It's okay, but Seb can you just think a little before you talk about some of this stuff? 'Cause if it comes out wrong it can really…"

"It can really hurt you." Sebastian finished for him. He felt wretched. "Yes, I will be more careful. I'm really, really sorry."

Blaine sighed and tried to move them forward. "Okay, so we've established that we're not going to be friends with benefits. Which means we can (1) just stay friends who had great sex, but don't want to be in a romantic relationship right now; (2) start a relationship but not be exclusive, meaning we are allowed to date other people…"

"I know how an exclusive or not-exclusive relationship is defined, Blaine." Sebastian said quietly, pulling off his skull cap and pacing again.

Blaine heard his resigned tone and got up to grab his hand. "I know you do. I'm sorry, that came out wrong." He felt terrible. "I didn't mean to sound like I was patronizing you, I was just thinking out loud."

_[author's note: to see Seb's face at this moment, see imgurDOTcom/GT3Q2l2 or the archiveoftheirownDOTorg version of this story]_

"It's okay," Sebastian said quietly.

Blaine pulled Sebastian into his arms and pulled him close. "Hey, look at me."

Sebastian looked at Blaine's sincere, caring expression. It was comforting.

"You're wonderful. I don't care if you've never had this conversation before. I don't care if you screw up sometimes while we do it. I don't care if you've had a fuck buddy and I don't care how many guys you've slept with before me. We can do this. We have to do this so we are clear about us before I get on that plane, because talking is going to be harder when we're in two different countries. I'm not going to be able to put my arms around you like this, which helps me hammer home the point right now that no matter what, I know we're going to okay. 'Cause we're us. Seb and Blaine."

Sebastian really wanted to kiss him but held himself back. But then Blaine leaned over and pressed his lips against his and they were soon in a very emotional embrace anyway.

They tore themselves apart after a very long minute, both of their eyes wet. Sebastian pulled away and started pacing again, his voice slightly choked and also frustrated - almost angry. "Let's not do that, B. Please. When you kiss me like that I get… I can't think straight. And this conversation is hard enough as it is."

"Sorry," Blaine said, looked abashed. "It was just the easiest way to show you how I feel – that it's going to be okay and…" _that I love you_, Blaine thought. "That it's going to be fine. But okay, I promise no more kissing."

Sebastian shook himself. He had to get through this. He clapped his hands as he started pacing again. "Okay, we can do this. Where were we before I shot off my trap like an idiot? Right, we were deciding where we want to go from here. You were going to tell me what you want. We can: (1) just stay friends, (2) date and not be exclusive, or (3) date exclusively. Did I miss any options?"

Blaine took a deep breath. "No."

"So which of these options do you want?" Sebastian tried to keep his tone light, but he waited tensely for the response.

_[to see Blaine's face at this moment, see imgurDOTcom/CH7LMFn]_

Blaine hedged. "Well, I'll tell you that I don't think I would know how to date and not be exclusive – at least not with you. I don't think I could date you and know that you might be kissing or sleeping with other people. I just couldn't – I know myself that well. So I guess…" he swallowed thickly, then continued bravely. "I think we should date exclusively."

Sebastian's back was turned while he was pacing so Blaine couldn't see his face. Blaine waited through an interminable pause.

"Seb?"

Sebastian turned and looked at him with a calm smile. "Okay, that sounds great. We should date exclusively. So I guess that makes you my boyfriend - that's a first." He gave Blaine another sweet smile.

Blaine's eyes narrowed. "Seb, why are you looking at me like I'm crazy?"

"I am not looking at you like you're crazy," Sebastian denied.

"Oh yes you are…" Blaine nodded his head. "In fact I know that for sure because the last time I saw that look on your face was when I told you I wanted to spend this year in San Francisco - the Third Eye Blind concert. You looked like you were humoring me while you listened to my insane idea and then you went on to gently and kindly tell me all the reasons why I was crazy to want to do that."

Sebastian furrowed his brow at him. "No. Blaine, weren't you listening? I care about you. I agree with you. I want to be with you. I want to be your boyfriend. Dating exclusively would be…" he paused to search for a word.

"It would be what? Fine? Okay? Nice? Not so bad? God, you don't even know how to finish that sentence." Blaine's voice broke. " Don't do this out of pity, Seb. Don't do this because you think I need you and you don't want to break my heart." Blaine began to violently pack things into the picnic basket.

"No no no," Sebastian came over quickly and took him in his arms. His voice choked up and he had tears in his eyes. "You're taking this all wrong." He would have smacked his own forehead if he wasn't hugging Blaine so tight and holding his curly head rest on his chest. "I want to be with you. I have never cared about anyone as much as I care about you. This is not out of pity - I think you're sexy and incredible in every other way - I would be proud to be your boyfriend. You're my best friend, so of course I want to do whatever you want to do. I'm more than happy to give dating a try right now. I'm all in, really - this isn't a pity thing I promise."

"You want us to '_give it a try_?' So you think it might not work out?"

Seb pulled back and lifted Blaine's chin to look at him. "Well come on, B. We can't be so idealistic to think that we can tell the future. There's always at least some slim chance that things might not work out, there might be unforeseen challenges or circumstances…That's true even for married couples."

"I hate it when you get too logical about things," Blaine pulled himself out of Sebastian's arms and stepped away. "We're talking about a relationship. A relationship is by nature, emotional. We have to believe, not measure the statistical probabilities. I don't want to just 'try this,' if you don't really believe in us."

Sebastian was really worried, but didn't want to get in Blaine's space if he needed it. He restrained the urge to pull him back and kiss him until he could understand. "I do believe. But I can believe in us, I can believe in you, and still recognize that we can't know everything that lies ahead of us. We can have faith that no matter what happens, whether we stay together forever or not, that we'll be okay. 'Cause we're Seb and Blaine."

Blaine's eyes welled up. Once again, he found that he had to trust in God and Burt Hummel. "You sound like Burt. And Finn."

"What? Who? Wait, Finn Hudson?"

"Yes. Finn and Burt Hummel."

Sebastian sighed. Kurt's dad. Why did a Hummel always have to come back into his life?

"He said that if two people care about each other, everything works out."

Sebastian looked irritated. "Why are you bringing in the Hummel family theories about why you and Kurt are going to end up together?"

"That's not what I'm saying. And that's not what he was saying. Just like you, he said he couldn't tell the the future and know if Kurt and I would end up together, but that I needed to let go and have faith that everything works out. He was saying everything will work out fine in the end, whether you end up together or not."

Sebastian nodded slowly. "Well, he's right. In fact, Nina said kind of the same thing." Then he said grimly, "But can you not bring up examples involving you and Kurt going forward?"

Blaine flinched. Then he came over and put his arms around him. "I'm sorry...of course. I wasn't thinking. I'm sorry."

There was an awkward pause. Blaine finally thought of something good to say. "So you talked to Nina about me?" He gave a tentative smile to Sebastian and lifted his eyebrows in question.

Sebastian put his hands on Blaine's shoulders and gave him a half smile. "Of course I did. Duh." He exhaled, then continued quietly, looking at the lake over Blaine's shoulder. "What did Finn say that you thought was relevant?"

Blaine replied in a choked voice, "Finn told Rachel, when they broke up right before she left for New York, 'we're going to sit here and let go and let the universe do its thing and if we're meant to be together, then we'll end up together."

"Yes, exactly." Sebastian remarked.. More rock-solid proof that Finn Hudson really wasn't as dumb as he had seemed. His eyes were wet again. He put his hand to Blaine's cheek and used his thumb to brush away a tear. "Again, I was serious when I said I was willing to give dating a try if that's what you want. But… it's just…you matter to me. _'We'_ matter to me – more than anything, really. And because it's so important, because_ we're_ so important…do you think maybe we should also consider waiting until the circumstances are better? I just wouldn't want us to jump into things and screw things up before we give ourselves a fair chance. I don't want us to mess things up just because …"

"Because it might be too soon." Blaine finished his sentence for him as he put his arms around Sebastian's waist and looked up sadly at him.

"I was going to say because long distance relationships are so hard." Sebastian raised an eyebrow and look at Blaine with searching green eyes. "But the timing issue is a potentially important one, too. What do you mean by too soon?"

Blaine looked guilty and pulled away slightly. "Nothing…"

"You're still at terrible liar." The words were harsh but Sebastian's eyes looked kind.

"I'm not lying…" Blaine said desperately and paused to search for words. "But I guess I'm not telling the whole truth, either. I suppose what it is…" he exhaled, "is I'm not sure if it's too soon for us to date. I mean it's only been four months since..."

_Since you were in love with someone else. Since you were about to marry Hummel. _Sebastian let out a deep breath. "Right. And you said you wanted to take the year to find yourself. And how can you do that with a six foot two, Stanford educated albatross around your neck?"

Blaine chuckled at the image, but then looked at Sebastian seriously. "This has _nothing _to do with you. It's just I'm learning to trust myself again. Kurt was my first love, we were wonderful at the beginning and a disaster as we got more serious. So I am learning to own that part of my past and really learn from it and work through how I can change myself to be better in a relationship and trust my own decisions again. I think I've started down that road by feeling comfortable and so happy about getting intimate with you, by having no regrets about my decisions about you. But last quarter in Scotland definitely wasn't one where I felt particularly solid on my own two feet. You know that, you did so much to help me just survive it. But maybe I should be doing more than just surviving on my own?"

He looked with intensity into Sebastian's eyes. "Someone once said that I love too much. That I lost myself in my relationship with Kurt. That I love others too much, that learning how to take care of myself is part of growing up. I'm not a hundred percent sure I've learned to take care of myself really well." Blaine's eyes were searching.

Sebastian's brow was furrowed, trying to remember why Blaine's words sounded so familiar. "Well, you definitely spent a fair amount of time taking care of me last quarter, writing me all those emails and addressing every little insecurity or gripe I would moan to you about."

Blaine pulled him closer. "None of that was your fault. If I spent too much time doing it, that was my choice. So you can you understand why I'm worried about it being too soon?"

Sebastian's green eyes still looked troubled. "Yes, but then why did you say you wanted to start dating exclusively?"

Blaine sighed, "I don't know. Like I said, I really didn't know if we would be jumping into things too soon, or if I was making a mountain out of a mole hill. And when pressed to choose between our two final choices – to just be friends or to date exclusively, I panicked and chose the one where I get to have you as my boyfriend." He looked at Sebastian with a shy smile. "It had such a nice ring to it." He looked down. "Plus, it's hard to imagine how I can go back to just being friends with you."

"I see your point," Sebastian nodded, a pained expression on his face. He went on with courage. "But it's probably for the best if we wait. It's better to be conservative here, right? Better to wait too long and make sure you're ready, than to jump into it too soon and screw things up? And I mean…we were pretty happy with our friendship before, right?"

"Right," Blaine said without conviction.

Sebastian took a deep breath and mustered his resolve once again. It was exhausting to keep doing this, but he knew he could do it. It was for the best. He could pretend that he was okay with just being Blaine's friend. Because Blaine's happiness was the ultimate goal. He took Blaine's hand and led him back to the picnic table. They sat down side by side. "Okay, we have to finish this checklist of yours. The last questions were, "What do we want to do and how do we want things to look in our relationship. I think they are pretty related, if not duplicative."

Blaine had to chuckle. "Duplicative? You've been hanging out with Stanford nerds too long."

"Shut up." Sebastian smiled at him. "Ok, what we have to do is go back to being just friends again, right? But I really don't think we've gotten so far where we have to not talk…like you and Hummel…right?" He looked at Blaine anxiously.

Blaine replied immediately. "Of course we can keep talking. I'd miss you too much if we stopped. I mean not so much that I think I'm co-dependent with you…"

"Co-dependent? Is that shrink –speak? Now who's a nerd?"

"Shut up, it's a very helpful definition to know, you should look it up sometime. I just mean that I don't think I'd miss you an unhealthy amount. But I would miss you, and it would be unnecessary, because I think we can still support each other and have fun like all best friends do, while I take some time to get stronger on my own, without a boyfriend."

Sebastian looked down on the partially snow covered ground. "Okay. So we can keep talking. But now that we're on the subject…and this is related to what you said earlier about your emails to me…and PLEASE don't take this the wrong way…"

Blaine chuckled at him, "Seb, just spit it out, it's okay."

Seb muttered, "Yeah, STILL suck at this." He ran his fingers through his hair. Do you think we communicate too much? I only ask that because Rob keeps giving me the feeling that he thinks we do. He never says as much, but I feel like he's practically raising his eyebrows at me every time I write you an email or start to dial you on Skype."

Blaine let out a huff of laughter. "Jeez, that roommate of yours. I really have to meet him. He doesn't miss a thing, does he? At least he's subtle. Sam is as subtle as an anvil - he flat out told me thought I was talking to you too much. So maybe they have a point. But I don't think we Skype too much – once a week, in my opinion, is not enough. I mean, you're my best friend. I like seeing your goofy face at least once a week."

Sebastian rolled his eyes. "I know you think I'm gorgeous. You told me so during sex. That's like the truth zone."

Blaine laughed. "Conceited!"

"Honest!" Sebastian volleyed back.

Blaine smiled. "Alright, so let's try dialing back the emails, just to force us – especially me – to reach out to other people more? Maybe I take some of my time and energy to put my whole self out there, like you said?"

Sebastian smiled at him fondly. "That sounds good, Killer. But what do you mean by 'dialing back the emails?' This could be my engineering professor getting to me, but what are we talking about numbers-wise, are we talking two or three times a week? Once a week?"

Blaine chuckled. "God, you really are turning into a nerd. Well, I don't think we should limit ourselves artificially. If I'm having a terrible week, I might want to talk to you more and I don't want to feel guilty about that."

"Okay, you have a point. And on the flip side, I don't want you to feel guilty about not emailing all week if it's because you're out having non-boyfriend fun and connecting to people and shit."

"Yes, I am looking forward to 'connecting to people and shit,'" Blaine laughed.

Sebastian ignored the snark. "Ok, so let's say that we'll assume no more than 2-3 times a week but that it should be treated as a very loose guideline – no guilt if we want to write more, no guilt if we end up writing less. It will take some getting used to, but I'm game. I want to give you your breathing room."

"Okay," Blaine said. "And I guess the last thing we need to remember in terms of 'what we are doing' going forward is…"

"What?" Sebastian furrowed his brow at him. "What's with the weird look on your face?"

"I just want to remind us that we can't have sex. Not even phone sex. Remember, we are not going to become 'friends with benefits.'"

Sebastian closed his eyes. "Right."

"I know, that might be the worst part," Blaine said, putting his head on Sebastian's shoulder and closing his eyes, too. "The sex was so fucking great."

"Stop it," Sebastian said, eyes still closed. "I love it when you curse, it's so sexy from my blushing school boy."

Blaine giggled, but then put his hand on Sebastian's cheek and waited until the beautiful eyes opened and looked at him tenderly. _I love you,_ he wanted to say. But that certainly wouldn't help matters any.

Sebastian took a deep breath and looked at his watch. "I think we have time."

"For what?" Blaine asked.

"For us to get home, get me showered, dash over to your house, get your luggage, say goodbye to Cooper, and have sex in your room before we leave. Or in the media room. Yeah - definitely there. I definitely daydreamed about that some afternoons when you thought I asleep on your lap."

Blaine gave a little gasp of delighted surprise.

Sebastian grinned at him. "Well all these new rules don't start until you get back to Scotland, right? I can be a friend with benefits for a couple more hours? You won't fall at my feet and propose marriage that fast, will you?"

Blaine was already packing up the last of their picnic in the basket. He grabbed it and started running. "Race you back!"

* * *

_Author's note: Okay, don't hate me for this chapter. I really think it was in keeping with these boys - Sebastian, too rational and gunshy and secretly petrified they are going to screw up the boyfriend thing; Blaine still easily swayed by Tina and logic and any trace of hesitation from Sebastian. The good thing is that they are very sensitive to each other - something that has always and will always make them a very strong pairing. Hopefully you could see all that this chapter._

_Just hang in there and remember I promised you that the story will end about half way through Seb's junior year so we've still got some fun and fluffy and lovely stories to tell (and yes there will probably be some angst thrown in there somewhere)._

_Plus I'm pretty sure I will do a story after this one to make it a trilogy! But I promise to try to keep this journey fun and interesting and sweet...and yes, hot from time to time!_

_Please check in with a review or note and let us know what you think or just to say 'hi, I'm still reading!' Many thanks as always to fantastic beta readers Thomas, Dori and Rose._

_P.S. Bonus points for anyone recognized the section that Blaine quoted from Seb's 'Runaway with Me' rant from Stop the Wedding, the prequel just before this story.  
_


	15. Post-Mortems, Shower, Goodbyes

_Hello folks:_

_Glad to hear from reviews (Thanks Misgranted, Kelly, SincerelyYourSecret and dizzyapple95) that you guys don't all hate us for not letting these guys dive into a long distance relationship including as many weekend trysts that Seb's creditcard and lacrosse practices could allow. We all know it would have been wildly risky, right? And Seb's a guy about more calculated risk, and Blaine wants to feel like his own man before being someone else's man._

_But it's hard...so here's the slightly angsty chapter that sends them off on the journey. Sorry it's been a few days for it to be posted, it was a beast to write! Hope it suits, there's some bittersweet Seblaine feels definitely bordering on angsty, some bossy amusement (Tina and Coop) and some sweet and salty Sebtana to keep everything in balance. We promise the next couple of chapters after this one will be sunnier. _

XOXO

_The German (Thomas), DC (Dori) ,California (moi), Portuguese (Rose) and Czech (Tereza) Seblaine Team_

_P.S. Reminder that: (1) words in italics indicate extra emphasis or a character's verbatim thoughts; and (2) all links to images and songs use DOT to represent . So you'll have to do a little copy and paste and replace that DOT with . to pull up the image or song. restrictions, sorry!_

* * *

They reached their cars smiling and breathless. After a sweet kiss goodbye, Blaine got into the Anderson station wagon and Sebastian jumped into the Mercedes with a smile on his face. He was, after all, on his way back to jump into bed with Blaine again. Plus, "The Talk" hadn't gone nearly as badly as it could have. Things at least seemed clearer now and Blaine seemed genuinely okay with what they had decided. They were not going to stupidly attempt the notoriously trying phenomena known as the long distance relationship. They were going to be smart and wait, to make sure Blaine was ready. But they would still talk and be everything they had been to each other and they would make it work from there.

Not being able to have sex with Blaine until he was ready again would probably be the hardest part, of course. It almost made him wish they hadn't done the deed – then he wouldn't know what he was missing. "Almost," however, was the operative word… because after that spectacular marathon, he was definitely pleased to have plenty of unforgettable memories to keep him occupied while he waited for Blaine. It was quite something, he reflected, that Sebastian Smythe would even think about waiting like this for someone. But Blaine Anderson was worth it.

He glanced at the clock - only a handful of hours left before he would say goodbye to Blaine. Then he would also go back to school, back to life after a charmed two weeks of live living with Blaine. How different it would be, to go back to life at school, where he wouldn't wake to Blaine sitting on his bed ruffling his hair or Blaine's beautiful, compact frame leaning up against his door jamb chiding him to get up. He wouldn't get to feel Blaine lean up against him as they made their way downstairs for breakfast…

_Stop it. This is exactly how the goddamned weepy goodbyes begin._ He was going to make the best of the final hours they had left. _Focus on that. _There were definitely still good times to be had - especially in bed. The thought of bedding Blaine again cheered Sebastian immediately. Maybe they could get in two rounds if he could get showered in a flash...Sebastian smiled as he thought about how they would make the last time count.

The last time until when? They hadn't talked about it, but this was another area where setting a specific time frame probably didn't make sense. _But the ballpark might be what, 3 months? Probably too soon. Six? When would they know? What if Blaine meets someone else in the meantime? _

_Stop it. _Sebastian shook himself and turned on the radio.

_[youtubeDOTcom/watch?v=1dDOiR-Sfwg]  
_

_...Boy I hear you in my dreams  
__I feel your whisper across the sea  
__I keep you with me in my heart  
__You make it easier when the life gets hard  
__I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend  
__Lucky to have been where I have been  
__Lucky to be coming home again  
__Ooh ooh ooh_

_They don't know how long it takes,  
Waiting for a love like this  
Every time we say goodbye  
I wish we had one more kiss  
I'll wait for you I promise you, I will  
_

Just like the song said, he could wait, and he was lucky that he was in love with his best friend. And all signs were indicating that Blaine was on his way, too. Blaine wouldn't fall in love with someone else without knowing how things would work out with them. That's just not who he was. Blaine was just going to be spending time on his own, not dating anyone. Sebastian had nothing to worry about. Absolutely. Nothing. To. Worry. About.

_And so I'm sailing through the sea  
__To an island where we'll meet  
__You'll hear the music fill the air  
__I'll put a flower in your hair_

_Though the breezes through the trees  
__Move so pretty you're all I see  
__As the world keeps spinning 'round  
__You hold me, right here, right now_

It wouldn't be a tropical island, but maybe by the summer Blaine would feel more ready and they could spend part of their first summer as a couple in Paris. He could send Sam and the kids off to do touristy things and then he could show Blaine all his favorite haunts; buy him flowers from the corner flower cart everyday; buy him his first real Parisian coffee; bed him in a suite at the Hôtel Particulier Montmartre or the Shangri-La if Blaine preferred a view of the Eiffel Tower.

_I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend  
__Lucky to have been where I have been  
__Lucky to be coming home again  
__I'm lucky we're in love in every way  
__Lucky to have stayed where we have stayed  
__Lucky to be coming home someday_

Lucky. He was lucky that he and Blaine were not starting a dating relationship full of the foolishness he had seen at Stanford. The typical college relationship seemed to involve: (1) over the top PDA; (2) practically living with one another immediately, which of course drove any roommates crazy; (3) a decline into a mess of petty soap opera drama and gossip; and (4) break-ups that were awkward at best and ugly at worst.

He was lucky. They were lucky. Very, very lucky.

He repeated different versions of this to himself all the way home.

* * *

Blaine hit speed dial 5 and turned his headset on as he rolled out onto the highway.

"Blainers!"

"Tay-Tay, thank god you picked up."

"What is it? Are you out of breath? Are you okay?" Tina put on her own headset.

"Yes, yes, I think I am." Blaine sounded excited but still a little anxious.

"What happened?"

"Sebastian and I had 'the talk'… about us."

"Ooh, wow, that's big! Last night after the party? Tell me everything." Tina said, starting to pack her suitcase for UCLA.

"This morning." Blaine grinned and blushed in spite of himself .

"This morning?" Tina froze. "Oh my god...You slept with him, didn't you?!"

Blaine blushed harder and didn't have words.

"Oh my god! You slept with him, I can HEAR you blushing now! Oh my god. Say something! Are you okay? Please tell me he didn't sneak off into the night after the sex, because I'll break his scrawny little neck if he did."

"His neck is NOT scrawny . And of course he didn't sneak off," Blaine said, rolling his eyes. "What kind of monster do you think he is?"

"If I were you, I wouldn't pick at that thread," Tina said dryly. "But okay wow, so you just confirmed it! Oh my god… " She hesitated before going on. "Okay, Okay, are you guys officially a couple now? We were right that he didn't want 'friends with benefits,' right? 'Cause if he did, I swear..."

"You'll break his neck," Blaine laughed. "No, he didn't want that. That didn't take any persuading." _Because he's done it before and he thought the feelings got in the way, _Blaine remembered with residual concern.

"So if you aren't 'friends with benefits,' you're a couple then? Okay you did tell him that you have to be exclusive, right? Because I don't think you could really..."

Blaine interrupted her. "No, we're not a couple…" He looked troubled. "We're...friends." It really didn't seem to express what they were. They were...a couple-to-be? That sounded ridiculous. He did his best not to sigh. "And we both really believe that is the best thing for now."

Tina was momentarily silenced by her surprise. "Really? You're just friends? How did that happen? Was that even what you wanted? That's not the sense I got from you at the end of our breakfast on New Year's..."

Blaine said without thinking, "Honestly, I wasn't 100% sure of what I wanted when I walked into our conversation. I kind of wanted to see what he wanted, first." He realized he sounded weak, but thankfully Tina always loved him no matter what.

"Wait, so he dumped you?"

"Tina, no one could dump anyone in this situation because we were not even a couple."

"Well, you practically were," Tina said. " Sam said that was true before Christmas and we all could see during this whole vacation. You were cuddling and staring at each other all soft-eyed at every moment you didn't think anyone was watching; he was opening every door for you; you were RSVPing for him, adjusting his clothes, you were blowing flour off his neck after that flour fight, for goodness' sake. And then he sleeps with you but he doesn't want to date you?! The nerve of that sneaky..."

Blaine interrupted, baffled. "I thought you would be happy about this. That's why I'm calling you and not Sam! You were the one who told me that Seb and I shouldn't start dating yet...that it's too soon, that you thought I had been using him as an emotional crutch; that...that if I dated him I might go back into patterns I had with Kurt. You said that I would put our relationship too central in my identity. You were the one who said that I shouldn't date him because he's never had a boyfriend before, because it would be too hard to date long distance…"

"Yes, I still think those things, but I didn't want you to get hurt in this. I didn't want HIM to dump YOU! I wanted YOU to dump HIM !"

"Again, no one dumped anyone!" Blaine yelled, swerving to avoid a dead animal in the road. "We were not dating!"

"Potato, potahtoe. So okay if he didn't dump you, what happened? You said you didn't come in with your mind made up. Did he manipulate you into seeing his way? Because that's still him kind of dumping you."

"No, it wasn't like that. He didn't manipulate me. Stop and just LISTEN to me a for a minute."

"Sorry," Tina was finally chastened. "Go ahead."

"Like I said, he didn't manipulate me. In fact, it was quite the opposite: he was calm and open about the whole thing and he thought _I_ should take the lead in the conversation. So then we talked about the fact that we have no regrets about sleeping together; and that the sex meant a lot to both of us and made us feel closer to each other. Then he asked _me _what _I_ wanted and we talked about it and we decided that we don't want to risk messing up our chances as a couple by dating too soon."

Tina was silent for a few moments. "Wow. You guys sound so...mature."

"Yes, I think we are being very mature about this." Blaine said proudly.

"So you've slept together, but you're going to wait to start dating…and you're really okay with this?"

"Yes," Blaine said with only the slightest hesitation.

Tina didn't miss it, but she pushed ahead anyway for his sake. "Good. Because you're doing the right thing. You really are." She furrowed her brow. "I can't believe Sebastian didn't pressure you into anything. He really walked in wanting to do this? You'd think he'd want to keep sleeping with you.."

Blaine blushed, but spoke earnestly. "Tina, I know he's had a reputation and can come across the wrong way. But he really has changed and he's really an amazing person inside, you have to trust me. And he really wants us to work out in the long run. That's why he's willing to do this. And next time we're all home together, I hope you'll spend some time with him because_ I_ also really want it to work out for us - that's why we're doing this. And anyone I'm with is going to have to pass muster with you ."

"It means a lot to me that you want them to, Blainers…" Tina said. "I know I'm being pushy and overbearing, it's just I want to make sure he's good enough for you."

"He is. He really is. I know he has a lot of rough spots, but it's because he's had a lot of challenges in his life and he's really passionate about what he wants and what he thinks is right. But I love that about him." Blaine looked dreamy eyed. "It's really sweet you're so protective of me, Tay-Tay. I know Seb is a hard guy to get to know, but I think once you get to know him, you'll find he's more than good enough for me. Sam used to be really suspicious of him, but he's come around. The more time he's spent with him, the more he likes him. He even gave Sebastian a Christmas present."

Tina rolled her eyes. "Oh, I know Sam loves Sebastian - believe me. He even has a "ship name for you guys" - "Team Seblaine." She chuckled in spite of herself. "He and Nick came up with it when they hatched the plot to get you guys to smooch on New Year's Eve."

"That's hilarious," Blaine laughed. "Those guys are so cute."

"Well," Tina sighed, "I _am_ glad that you guys are taking things slow."

"We're not '_taking'_ things at all, " Blaine said ruefully. "But I think you were right - it's the healthiest thing to do, to not jump into things too soon. I don't want to risk our friendship or what we could have as a couple."

Tina nodded. "Okay, well keep me posted. You guys were supposedly "just friends" last quarter and you ended up basically having a long distance relationship without the phone sex or the visits. I just am worried…"

"I know. But you know I think that just illustrates our point - you shouldn't be so worried about someone taking advantage of me. I need to get back on my feet, I want to be a stronger person that you would never worry that much over. And to do that, he and I even agreed to reduce our communication - we're only going to email like twice a week. That's how much you and I were averaging, right? Seb is just one of my best friends, just like you."

"One you're best friends who you've gotten naked with," Tina teased.

Blaine blushed again. "Tina! Well we're just going to...put the sex on the back burner for now... until some time, hopefully in the not too distant future, when I won't seem like such a sad, weak little creature to everyone." Blaine looked a bit sad.

"Oh, you're not so weak - it's more that I'm worried he'll screw you over somehow."

Blaine chose to ignore Tina's concern about Sebastian. "Well even if you don't see me as weak, I do."

"Well, what you think about yourself is the most important."

"Right, and I am still feeling a little unsteady...but the good news is I feel like I'm on my way back. With you, Sam, Seb and all my other friends behind me, I know I can get there. And THEN I'll be ready to be a better boyfriend to Seb."

"Then you'll be ready to live the life you really want to live, with a boyfriend or not," corrected Tina .

"Right. You see how far I still need to go?" Blaine smiled ruefully and rubbed his forehead.

Tina laughed. "You don't have to go so far...not any farther than the rest of us needy, romantic 19 year olds need to go. You're not the only one struggling to find themselves right out of high school."

"Awww, Lady... thanks for always helping me keep things in perspective."

"That's what best friends are for." Tina smiled. "So what are you up to now?"

"We just had the talk at the lake, so now we're driving back to Seb's house to drop off his car and then we're going to my house to pick up my suitcases and…" Blaine broke into a shy smile. "Wait a minute..."

"What?"

Blaine blushed as his smile got wider. "Aren't you even going to ask me?"

"Ask you about what?" Tina's brow furrowed.

"Come on, don't make me force it on you. I know you must want to know!"

"Want to know about what?!"

Blaine burst out, "The sex!"

"Oh my god!" Tina clapped a hand over her mouth. "Of course I want to know, Blainers! I just didn't think you'd want to kiss and tell!"

Blaine smirked . "Who said I wanted to talk about the kissing ?"

"Blainers!" Tina blushed herself.

Blaine blushed a deeper shade of red. "I know I know I know… I'm never like this…but it was soooo...EPIC. I have to talk to _someone _!"

"Oh my god! I figured I would have to pry it out of you another time! Spill, spill!"

"Well Tay-Tay, your boy Blainers is growing up, because I'll never be quite so inhibited again after what we did..." Blaine blushed and grinned at the same time.

"What did you do?!" Tina giggled, her mouth hanging open. "Oh my god. Sebastian _is_ really sexy, I mean he had the whole room salivating New Year's Eve…he's got the rich bad boy thing down cold. So come on come on come on, get it all off your chest…and don't worry about shocking me!"

Blaine laughed, and Tina thought she had never heard him sound so free and joyous. She conceded points to Sebastian if he was responsible for that .

"Come on, come on - let's hear it!"

Blaine sighed dramatically, and then drew a deep breath. "Well the most amazing part was how passionate and loving it felt. It was… _exquisite_. I can't think of a better word. It just felt so perfect to be that close to him, to give him everything I could and be there for him. And he made me feel so loved and cared for and appreciated; so worshipped and sexy and beautiful." Blaine flushed just remembering Sebastian's touch and the look in his green eyes.

"And god it was stunning, it literally took my breath away to get to touch him the way I've been wanting to touch him, to get to see all of him. Oh my god he's so hot, Tina! Hotter than I ever imagined...he's in the shape of his life with all the sports he's doing at Stanford, good god." Blaine stared at a distant tree down the highway but was actually imagining Sebastian laid out below him in bed. He was lost in thought for a few moments.

"Blaine?! Hello, Blaine! Grunt if you're alive!"

"Sorry, sorry..." Blaine shook himself. He sighed again and smiled. "Anyway, I couldn't believe I got to touch and kiss him everywhere I wanted to. Oh, and his neck? Again, not scrawny, it was perfect and delicious." Blaine smiled slyly before going on with starry eyes. "And I swear thought I was going to melt, the way he touched me..." He flushed again. "It felt like we were just...breathing each other and...taking each other in...like oxygen. It was like he was just everything and everywhere. It felt like I was high or drunk or out of my mind by the time we… you know," he blushed. Then he whispered urgently. "And oh my god Tay-Tay, I've never come so hard in my life!"

Tina chuckled at his embarrassment. "Oh my god that's incredible...you sound like you were levitating! Did you wake up this morning just feeling like you'd dreamed the whole thing?"

Blaine smirked. "Hey…who says we slept at all?"

"BLAINERS!"

* * *

Thanks to his lead foot and his radar detector, Sebastian beat Blaine back to his house and raced up the stairs. Perhaps he could get through his shower before Blaine even got there. He double checked that he had what he wanted in his suitcase, grabbed his clothes and stepped into the bathroom quickly. He noticed his old junior high school Ipod docking station on the bathroom console. He turned it on and cranked it up when he heard "Green Onions" come on _[listen to Seb's old blues favorite at: youtubeDOTcom/watch?v=NSfRkfeL0TM]_.

But when Sebastian stepped into the shower, his exhaustion hit him the second the hot water did. All the tension built up from his anxiety around "the Talk" and the fatigue in his muscles released and radiated as he stood under the spray. Sebastian groaned as he scrubbed his face…what he wouldn't give to go lay down. Ugh, wasn't he supposed to be coming back from vacation rested? He lathered his hair and thought he might fall asleep standing there rinsing it out.

Yeah he was tired from last night, but why did_ everything _else also have to be so exhausting in his life? He was so sick and tired of dealing with his father. He couldn't finish college soon enough and finally start making his own money to compliment the trust fund his Grandmother Smythe left him. Then he wouldn't need his father for anything anymore.

Why the hell was he thinking about his father? Then he remembered that "Green Onions" was an old favorite of his father's. He would step out of the shower and skip to the next song, but his muscles couldn't be bothered.

Regardless of what was on that ancient Ipod, he was still tired. He was already tired of not living in the same country as Blaine, and they were only one quarter into the year. He was tired in advance of not living in the same city as Blaine for the next 3 years. And even if they were doing the right thing now, he was still tired of waiting for things to align for them.

The shower door opened and Sebastian jumped. Blaine whispered, "Hey you," and stepped through the steam to slip his arms around him, wearing nothing but a sweet smile .

He was like a soothing balm to Sebastian's fatigued spirit. "Hey, babe." Sebastian leaned down and pulled him close to kiss him slowly and passionately. "Damn, you're a beautiful sight," he whispered wearily in Blaine's ear.

Blaine heard the tone of his voice pulled back to look up at him to study his face. "Are you okay?"

"Just tired," Sebastian replied, smiling softly at him. "Someone wore me out all night and I'm sore in places that I've never been sore before." He pulled him closer again, closing his eyes to the feel the hot water pouring over their mingled skin.

"You're not the only one," laughed Blaine. "I kind of limped up that grand staircase of yours."

Sebastian smiled into his neck, lightly kissing it as he ran his hands up and down Blaine's body and felt both of them harden. "Well, hopefully we can massage all your kinks out," he murmured.

A Sting song started on the Ipod. Sebastian smiled when he recognized it. _[__youtubeDOTcom/watch?v= YD1mWlQHWLA __]_

"I thought you were tired," Blaine said smiling, nibbling his ear and giving a little moan at the friction.

"I am, but I'll push through it for this," Sebastian said, kissing his lips softly. He pulled back to tweak his nose and look in his beautiful eyes. "You are naughty, we were going to wait until we got to your house to make sure we had time."

"Cooper's home," Blaine whispered, tracing Sebastian's collarbone with his finger. "I don't want to worry about him walking in on us." He looked up with beguiling eyes, "Plus, _someone_ said scheduled intercourse is NOT sexy… "

Sebastian chuckled and ran his hand through Blaine's wet curls while palming him. "Well, desperate times call for desperate measures…we're short on time." He murmured into Blaine's ear as he licked into it. "Tell me why we didn't start doing this the minute we found each other at baggage claim two weeks ago?"

Blaine threw his head back and moaned a little moan as Sebastian lapped his way down his neck while stroking him. "Because we're stupid, stupid idiots."

Sebastian laughed lazily and stood straighter to look down at Blaine with mock seriousness. "And hey, didn't you already take a shower this morning?" He swatted his ass playfully..

Blaine groaned low in his ear. "Well, shower sex has been on my mind since I walked in on you in that teeny, weeny towel last week." Then he pulled back to look at Sebastian with big, innocent eyes. "Plus, I need another shower because I'm a dirty, dirty boy…"

"Fuck, Killer…" Sebastian growled, and they commenced Round Whatever the Hell Number They Were Up To.

_If it's a mirror you want, just look into my eyes  
__Or a whipping boy, someone to despise  
__Or a prisoner in the dark  
__Tied up in chains you just can't see  
__Or a beast in a gilded cage  
__That's all some people ever want to be_

_If you love somebody,  
__If you love someone  
__If you love somebody  
__If you love someone  
__Set them free_

* * *

As Blaine turned the key in the lock, Cooper's hand jerked the door open, causing both Sebastian and Blaine to step back in surprise. "HEL-LO Lovebirds! I was so delighted to see the car pull up."

Sebastian chuckled. Blaine pushed past his brother as he opened the door. "We're in a hurry Coop! We have to leave for the airport, in case there's traffic. Get out of the way, I left my messenger bag in the kitchen." He started heading across the hall.

"I'll go grab your other bags," Sebastian said slyly as he started up the staircase. "So you two can have a few more moments of brotherly love." Blaine glared at him as he ran the rest of the way up the stairs.

In the kitchen Blaine sighed and turned to his brother, who was practically panting. "Yes, we slept together."

"I KNEW IT! I could tell the second you looked in the door. Sebastian looked WAY too smug. Yes yes yes!" Cooper pumped his fist in the air. "You two are the cutest…I just knew it was going to happen. I _told_ mom… "

Blaine looked at him in horror. "You talked to mom about whether or not you thought Sebastian and I would sleep together?!"

Cooper laughed. "Sure. Heck, the way you two have been carrying on, I'm surprised Dad didn't ask me about it."

Blaine looked appalled at the very idea.

Cooper grinned. "Oh boy, all that lovely money in the family… I knew 2014 is going to be a very good year…"

"Coop, we're not getting married…" Blaine rolled his eyes. "We're not even…"

"Oh just having him around more will mean good times!" Cooper interrupted mischievously. "Does he own a yacht? I've always wanted to go on a yacht that wasn't rented… If you come to UCLA next year we can all have such good times, the four of us: you, me, Seb and his money."

Blaine looked at him pointedly. "Coop, let me make this clear before he comes back downstairs and you embarrass us both some more. Yes, we slept together, but we actually decided that we are going to put the whole dating thing on the back burner for awhile and go back to being just friends."

"What?!" Cooper's blue eyes were confused.

"We are just friends...for now," Blaine said, bracing himself for what he knew would be his big brother's disapproval.

"Oh, so that's what you meant by back burner. But...why?" Cooper looked entirely disgusted at the idea. "Who does that?" Then he shifted to his patronizing manner.

_[see Coop's reaction at: imgurDOTcom/f5Q5gNV]_

"Little brother, I know you've only dated Kurt before this, but let me give you a little Dating 101. If you hook-up with someone, you either start dating or you get awkward and never talk again."

Blaine looked doubtful.

"Ok, I suppose there are a few rare pairings that hook up and go back to being friends. But no one hooks up, puts 'dating on the backburner' and goes back to being friends in the meantime. What kind of lukewarm sentiment is that?"

"It's not lukewarm!" Blaine chided his brother. "We're just being smart. I want to spend some time on my own without a boyfriend for awhile – get my act together on my own without relying on a boyfriend."

"You really think you can just put the toothpaste back in the tube now ?"

"What?" Blaine looked befuddled.

"You've slept together. There's no going back from that. You can't just try to pretend it didn't happen, you can't try to shove the toothpaste back in the tube once you've squeezed it out."

Blaine furrowed his brow at him. "That is the weirdest romance analogy I've ever heard."

"Whatever. Just go for it, Blainey! Stop worrying so much and just call him your boyfriend, it's really okay… you're plenty independent enough already. I bet you can sing me a Beyonce song to illustrate my point, too. Or Whitney."

Blaine glared at him. "Coop, I didn't ask your advice on this."

"Or Madonna."

"Stop. We don't want to put the boyfriend label on it."

"Or Aretha. No, I take that back, you can't really pull off any of her stuff, I don't think. No offense."

"Coop, are you listening to me?!" Blaine shook his brother. "I know myself – calling him my boyfriend and letting him spoil me and do all the things I'm sure he'll do once he's my boyfriend...all of that'll make me too romantic and obsessed about him and I don't want to be that guy anymore. Until I feel like I won't be that guy, we're staying just friends."

Cooper sighed. "And how long do you think that will that take?"

"I don't know…maybe by the end of the school year?"

"Well, don't take too long. He'll get snapped up while you're busy 'finding yourself.'"

Blaine hadn't thought of that. "He will not," he said with false assurance.

Cooper raised his eyebrows. "With all the gay guys in San Francisco, he said he's going to wait for you? I'm pretty sure my gay buddy Paul told me there is a gay travel agency vacation package that includes an excursion onto Stanford's campus to pluck pretty boys like Seb out for a good time."

They heard Sebastian reach the bottom of the stairs and put the luggage down into the hall.

"We have to go," Blaine said with irritation.

"I'm going to call you to follow-up with you about this," warned Cooper in a stage whisper as they walked into the hall. He grabbed a suitcase.

"Then I'll know to ignore your call," groused Blaine in an undertone.

"Open the door, Squirt."

Sebastian, sensing the tension, opened the door first and stepped out ahead of them with the rest of the luggage.

"For the last time, don't call me that! I can't expect you to understand this. Just leave me alone!" Blaine hissed as they followed Sebastian out to the car. Sebastian raised an eyebrow at them and got into the passenger seat to wait while the brothers loaded the rest of the luggage in the trunk.

"Okay, okay, okay…" Cooper relented and spoke gently as he put his arm around his brother's shoulders. "Don't be mad, Blainey. But just try not to over-think things, okay? I just want you to be happy, and Seb seems to make you happy. It's as simple as that."

Blaine softened. "I know you want me to be happy, Coop. But trust me, I am happy. I'm happy just knowing that Seb and I are going to work this out. It's just hard to explain. But don't worry about me. I won't let him get away. Just trust me to take care of myself. I know I don't have the best track record, but I swear I'm learning from my mistakes."

"Okay, okay. I forget you aren't twelve anymore, sometimes." Cooper gave him a tight hug. "Call us when you land. Love you."

"I love you too, Coop. It was great spending some time with you. Good luck with that commercial audition tomorrow. I'll call you."

Blaine climbed in the car and put it in reverse. Cooper stood on the driveway, waving and calling out, "Seb, I'll still be here when you get back!"

Sebastian lifted his chin in acknowledgement, Blaine waved, and they drove off.

Blaine let out a deep breath.

"You okay?" Sebastian asked, looking cautiously over and patting Blaine's leg.

Blaine glanced over with a look of mild frustration. "Yes, I'm fine. He was just being his impatient self. He doesn't really get what we're doing, waiting and everything."

Sebastian nodded. He took a breath. "You know it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks, right?"

Blaine nodded, taking a breath as well. "You're right. We know what's best for us."

"Right." Sebastian answered with less conviction.

There was an awkward pause. All Blaine could think of was the ridiculous gay travel package excursion.

"Seb?"

"Yeah?"

"We didn't talk about something important this morning."

"What?"

"You. We were so busy talking about me...we didn't talk about what you're going to do. If we aren't going to be dating, than you should...you should feel free to date other people." Blaine swallowed thickly.

Sebastian shook his head. "I don't think you should worry about that, Killer."

Blaine looked at him with big eyes. "You'd really wait for for me? That doesn't seem fair."

Sebastian smirked. "Well then you'll have to owe me." When he saw Blaine still looking worried, he added quickly, "I was kidding! Of course you wouldn't owe me anything. I don't want to be with anyone else."

Blaine exhaled but still looked concerned.

Sebastian rubbed his forehead and closed his eyes. "And clearly, I still suck at this."

Blaine shook his head and squeezed his leg, half smiling as he let out another quick exhale. "It's okay. Your smirky snark is like hard-wired in you. I appreciate you wanting to wait for me. But I want you to let me know if it gets too much, I want to know how it's going for you. Because it really doesn't seem fair."

Sebastian's green eyes were sincere. "B, I don't care about what's fair." He squeezed Blaine's leg. "I care about you ."

Blaine gave him an appreciative smile. They sat in silence for a minute, both looking thoughtful.

Sebastian pulled out his IPhone and docked it to the car radio. He found a song, put his hand on Blaine's leg and gave him a reassuring look as it played:

_[youtubeDOTcom/watch?v=9kNzRuM0BWk] _

When he heard the opening notes, Blaine gave Sebastian a sentimental look and they sang along, first in turn:

[Sebastian sang as Blaine tremulously glanced at him as he drove.]  
_Woe is me  
Faithless you and selfish me  
I will leave a key for you outside my doorway_

[Blaine sang next as Sebastian gazed out at the gray, flying scenery]_  
Woe is me  
One if by the land or two by sea  
So won't you leave for me a light outside your doorway_

_On a ladder from there to here I'll climb_  
_All this clatter between my ears I find_  
_Does it matter if I can't clear my mind_  
_There's a right and a wrong time_

[Sebastian]  
_Woe is me  
Sentimental you and faithful me  
And I will be the one to gaze on you discreetly_

_Slow your speed_  
_Turn yourself around and follow me_  
_'Cause I will be the one who preys upon you sweetly_

[Blaine]  
_On a ladder from there to here I'll climb  
All this clatter between my ears I find  
Does it matter if I can't clear my mind  
There's a right and a wrong time_

[Both]  
_Whoa  
Oh  
Whoa  
Oh  
Oh_

They were both staring at the road ahead as the song ended. "Thank you," Blaine whispered.

"Thank _you_," Sebastian replied seriously.

"For what?"

Sebastian turned to look out the passenger window at the snowy scenery. "For… being you," he said slowly. "Of course I'm going to wait for you." He continued with quiet certainty, checking off a mental checklist. "Thank you for becoming my friend even though Kurt hated me. Thank you for giving me a second chance after I betrayed you and slushied you _and_ Santana; Thank you for believing me when I told you about the steroids. Thank you for listening to me rant about my idiot father. Thank you for looking past all my obnoxious qualities and even finding them amusing. Thank you for taking care of me last quarter and during this vacation. Thank you for saving my Christmas like some little claymation character. Of _course _I'm going to wait for you."

Blaine smiled at him and reached over to squeeze his hand. "You're very welcome, you deserved all of that." He changed lanes and they sat in comfortable silence for a few moments. Then Blaine gave a sidelong glance and couldn't resist teasing, "But is that the beginning of a weepy goodbye? Because I didn't think you did weepy goodbyes."

Sebastian rolled his eyes. "That was appreciation; gratitude. That was a lovely moment you managed to cut off at the knees because you've been hanging out with me too long and have become almost as snarky as me."

"I'm gonna miss you too, Seb." Blaine smiled at him affectionately .

Sebastian ignored him and continued, putting his snobby airs. "A weepy goodbye includes bemoaning a situation you can't change; blathering on and on about how much you're going to miss someone even though, again, there is nothing you can do about it at the present time. A weepy goodbye includes getting overly sentimental about past events and making unrealistic promises about in the future. And most annoyingly of all, it involves overly extravagant displays of affection at train stations and airports that make everyone around you uncomfortable or disgusted."

Blaine's eyes widened and he burst into an amused little laugh. "Wow, you've given this a lot of thought."

"No, I haven't. I have just done a lot of travelling and have seen a lot of weepy goodbyes."

Blaine chuckled. "Okay, so I can't go on and on about how much I will miss you, but I can express gratitude and give thanks. And I can't get overly sentimental about the past events. What if I am thanking you about past events?"

"You can thank me but don't get overly sentimental - use your best judgment. And don't get nitpicky on me, Anderson. Do you not get the general gist? Appreciation and gratitude, versus unproductive sentiment?"

"I get it, I get it," chuckled Blaine. "I love that emotions have to be productive for you. You are going to the top of your engineering class. Ok, so I will focus on appreciation and gratitude."

"Yes," Sebastian smirked. "It should be easy...I have given you so many things to be grateful about. Especially in bed."

Blaine smacked him. "I'm not going to be grateful to you when you are feeling so full of yourself."

"Okay," Sebastian said with a look of saucy reproach, "but you only have a couple of hours left, and that's the closest you're going to get to giving me your weepy goodbye!"

At the mention of their timeline, they were both sobered. Blaine recovered first, bravely trying to regain the mood. "Fine, then I'll say thank you for not pressuring me into a threesome with that hot guy at the Tavern," he said, smiling in spite of himself.

Sebastian had to chuckle at that. "Oh I don't think you should thank me for that! How can you know what's on the menu unless you try?" He gave Blaine a mischievous look.

"Sebastian!" Blaine blushed bright red.

"I'm glad there's some bashful schoolboy innocence left in you after last night." And with that, Sebastian hit shuffle on his IPhone's Ipod and they sang along to music for the rest of the drive...though they skipped everything too sentimental or sad.

* * *

When they got to the airport there were no more songs to distract and seemingly nothing left to say. Their spirits began to sink as the reality of Blaine's departure settled upon them. It was inevitable as they were quickly surrounded by hundreds of travellers going off to myriad destinations - travellers just like Blaine with suitcases and and tickets and backpacks. Sebastian fell into a brooding silence as everything started to suddenly happen too quickly: they found a parking spot much too close to the terminal; there was no line to the self-service kiosk to print the boarding pass and check the suitcases. As they waited for an agent to weigh his bags, Blaine felt almost panicked. This was it, next he would be getting into the security line and he wouldn't see Sebastian for months. As the agent took his bags, Blaine felt a rush of emotion and took Sebastian's hand, looking up at him with sad eyes.

Sebastian's looked like a thundercloud, but he tried to give Blaine a reassuring nod. "Hey, don't give up on me now. I'm going to hang with you until we get you onto that plane."

Blaine thanked the agent and then looked at Sebastian with a puzzled face as they started walking towards security. "How can you hang with me until I get on the plane?"

"I have a flight out of this terminal tonight, Killer. I printed my boarding pass so I can get through security with you ."

Blaine looked at him with surprise. Then he put his arm around Sebastian's waist and his clear hazel eyes were grateful. "You think of everything."

Sebastian gave him a half-smile back and placed his hand at the small of Blaine's back as they walked around a large tour group. "Just the important stuff."

After showing their boarding passes and IDs, they stepped into the security line. "Damn, it's crowded today," Sebastian remarked, eyeing the unusually long security line. "I guess every college student in Western Ohio is headed back to school."

Now free of all the luggage except the Blaine's fairly full messenger bag, Sebastian took it from Blaine and put it on, the satchel hanging behind him as he adjusted the strap across his broad chest. Blaine whispered thanks, but looked sad again. He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked at Sebastian tenderly, his mouth set in a straight line.

Sebastian put his arms around Blaine and tried to comfort him in spite of his own dismal mood. He took a deep breath, lifted Blaine's chin to look at him and say bravely, "Okay, what would Nina tell us?"

Blaine put his arms around Sebastian's waist and watched courage building in the green eyes. "Nina would say, 'It is what it is.'"

Sebastian nodded, trying to be strong enough for them both. "We can't stand here and get weepy about missing each other. We just can't, because we both know I am an emotionally handicapped jackass. If we keep brooding, we would risk me imploding somehow and abandoning you here in line or something, and we don't want me to do that. So we will have to focus on what there is to look forward to this quarter."

Blaine smiled in spite of himself. "You are not an emotionally handicapped jackass," he chuckled. "The fact that you are reminding us about Nina shows that you are not. "And you are right," he continued, heartened by Sebastian's effort. "We should focus on what's good ahead. And," he added, "we can focus on what's good right now - we can appreciate each other, like you said in the car. In fact," he said playfully, "we can make it like a game and take turns. I'll start..." He gave Sebastian a wistful smile as they stepped sideways to move forward in line. "I appreciate you cheering me up right now."

Sebastian looked at him fondly. "It's nothing you don't do for me all the time."

"Your turn," Blaine said, his eyes twinkling at him engagingly.

Sebastian looked thoughtful as he brought a hand up to brush his fingers over the back of Blaine's neck. "Let's see, I look forward to hearing more of your original music." He leaned over and kissed the top of Blaine's head. He looked at Blaine with soft eyes. "That Christmas gift, letting me be the first to hear those songs…" Sebastian was at a loss for words, so he just leaned down again, this time pressing his lips against Blaine's cheek and murmuring, "Thank you again," in his ear.

"Mmmmm…" Blaine hummed quietly, feeling like he was melting into Sebastian's lips against his skin. He closed his eyes and whispered with a smile, "We are bordering on being one of those extravagant displays of affection you hate in weepy goodbyes."

Sebastian shrugged. " Oh, but you and I are two gay men, our PDA is partially a political statement."

Blaine laughed, blushing and trying to think straight as they moved forward in line. "Ummm, is it my turn? I'm looking forward to...taking that 'Singing for Musical Theatre' class - even if I'll have to admit I have no real vibrato."

Sebastian made Blaine look him in the eye. "And I'm looking forward to hearing about how you have them at your feet even without the fucking vibrato. Just like last night at the party."

Blaine smiled at him fondly. "I appreciate you for always being my biggest fan."

Sebastian smiled back at him. "I have to say that it kills me that you never came back to Dalton and I never got to hear you every day with the Warblers."

"You couldn't have handled never getting solos," Blaine said saucily, tossing his head.

"Why you arrogant little bitch…" Sebastian retorted, laughing and tickling Blaine a bit .

"I'm gonna miss you too!" Blaine giggled and squirmed as they moved forward in line. Then he leaned his head on Sebastian's chest and said warmly, "Actually, watching you New Year's Eve and at the party last night reminded me of how much I love seeing you perform. So that's something else I appreciate about you, your magnetic talent."

"Well it goes both ways," Sebastian replied, playing with a stray curl on Blaine's forehead. Then he teased, "Wait this whole game is just a rouse so you can fish for compliments! Yes, yes, yes, you already knew I love your singing: in competitions, in the car, at karaoke in the Tavern, at parties, in the shower…"

"You know I sing in the shower?" Blaine's eyes widened.

"Sometimes you're really loud and you leave the bedroom door open a crack. And the door to your bathroom is not very soundproofed." Sebastian smirked. "So I laid down on your bed a couple of times over vacation and listened to your shower concerts. Great acoustics."

"And you didn't wait for me to come out and take bow?" Blaine asked with a flirty smile .

"Oh please, you would have shrieked like a woman and chased me out. And then you would have followed up with me to fish for compliments, being the needy little thing you are."

"I'm gonna miss you, too, you jackass," Blaine snorted. They moved forward in line again, shifting to stand side by side, arms around each others' waists again. "Your turn, eavesdropper."

Sebastian looked thoughtful. "Let's see, what else...oh, I'm looking forward to lacrosse season beginning. That's good news, because I can work out some of my aggression during games in a way I can't when we're just conditioning."

"Yeah, you can beat on guys to work through your aggression and score goals to give your spirits a rush," Blaine smiled at him fondly. " I wish I could see you play, I loved seeing the joy on your face after the couple of games I saw you play at Dalton. The only thing I didn't like was that I couldn't see your handsome face during the game because of those ugly helmets."

"Those ugly helmets keep my handsome face from getting smashed in," Sebastian winked. "I loved that one of the times you came to watch me, you came straight from Cheerios practice in your sexy uniform." He gave Blaine's hips and ass a quick squeeze.

"Eek! Seb!" Blaine jumped and scolded him in a loud whisper.

"Oh please," Sebastian's voice was low in his ear. "I'm no worse than that couple playing tonsil hockey over there," he pointed behind Blaine where a couple was saying a passionate farewell at the start of the security line.

They moved forward in line again and Blaine shook his head, though he couldn't restrain a smile. He whispered again. "You also bruised me there last night, so be careful!"

Seb smirked and whispered in his ear. "Mmm...I remember that. Should we find a bathroom stall and mark you up some more?"

Blaine blushed. "BEHAVE! It's your turn."

Sebastian raised his eyebrows. "I appreciate your neck."

"What?" Blaine wrinkled his brow.

"Your neck." Sebastian turned to face Blaine and put his arms around him again. He pulled him very, very, close and felt his pulse beat faster as he whispered, "I appreciate how soft the skin is, and I appreciate the way it curves, and how it smells… "

Sebastian found that his heart unexpectedly ached.

It was worse for Blaine. Having Sebastian so very close to him again, hearing his voice like that - it was too painfully intimate, too much for his very tender heart. Blaine's eyes filled with tears as he pushed him gently but urgently away. "Seb, don't."

Sebastian's eyes widened when he heard Blaine's voice choked with tears. He pulled away immediately and his eyes were wet, too. "I'm sorry, babe. I was just playing…I'm sorry."

"Just…" Blaine winked away the tears and floundered for what to say. "Can you just...not?"

"Yeah, of course," Sebastian said, stepping away even further from him and feeling like a murderer. "I'm so sorry," he whispered.

"AHEM," the passenger behind them coughed. They looked up to see the wide gap between them and the next passenger. They quickly moved forward in line again, Blaine apologizing and Sebastian careful not touch Blaine at all.

There was an awkward pause between them.

Blaine finally spoke up bravely. "I'm looking forward to counting the number of commas in your rambling emails to me again."

There was an awkward pause. Sebastian looked at him grimly. "I'm looking forward to the reduced number of opportunities to make you cry."

Blaine took his hand and squeezed it, turning to look him the eye. "I appreciate the way you always apologize right away and you don't have too much pride when it comes to little things. I appreciate the way you work really hard to always make things right between us when when we fight. I appreciate how much you care about us."

They moved forward in line, still holding hands. Sebastian looked at him seriously. "I appreciate your capacity for forgiveness." Then he groused, " Tell me again why you can't be mine?"

Blaine's eyes filled with tears again and he shook his head as he gave Sebastian a sad smile. "I don't think we should be rethinking our decision while we are failing spectacularly at avoiding a weepy goodbye at the airport."

"You have a point," Sebastian said, running a hand through his hair. He arched an eyebrow at Blaine, squeezing his hand. "Okay, is it horrible to say that I'm looking forward to this weepy goodbye being over?"

Blaine chuckled in spite of himself. "No, I'm right there with you."

They laughed heartily and swung their hands as they walked forward a few steps..

With one finger raised in warning, Blaine continued with mock severity, "But if you leave me right now I will hate you forever and send Santana to rip out your soul."

Sebastian had to chuckle at that. "Please, tell me how you really feel," he joked.

They moved up in line again and chose one of three lanes leading to security checkpoints. They had to remove their shoes, coats and Blaine's laptop and tablet from the messenger bag. After they got through security they didn't put their coats back on in the warm, overcrowded terminal. They found the coffee cart and ordered.

While they waited for coffees, Sebastian stood behind Blaine and put his arms around him. Blaine leaned back against him and leaned his head against the nape of Sebastian's neck..

Sebastian sang "_Wonderland" _softly in his ear _[from playDOTspotifyDOTcom/album/0ZEAcob9ZxFDdnQIHzp1Zo]:_

_I will hold you, I will catch you  
__When you feel like you're falling  
__When you feel like you're falling_

Blaine sang with him at the 2nd verse

_And I'll be near you, I will hear you  
__When you are calling  
__When you are calling_

They got their coffees and found Blaine's gate. There was still a half hour before boarding. They sat down at the edge of gate area and Blaine rested his head on Sebastian's shoulder. Sebastian leaned his cheek on Blaine's curly hair. "Ugh," Blaine groaned. "I'm so exhausted. I don't know how you pulled off so many all-nighters at Stanford."

"Adrenaline driven by a strong distaste for my father's tongue-lashings. Or Red Bull and a good DJ, if it was at a party or a club."

Blaine snuggled as closely as he could while Sebastian sang softly again:

_Eat me, drink me, win me, lose me  
__Either way you have to choose me  
__Eat me, drink me, love me, hate me  
__Either way you can't escape me_

Blaine sang the next verse with his eyes closed:

_I will hold you, I will catch you  
__When you feel like you're falling  
__When you feel like you're falling  
__I'll be near you, I will hear you  
__When you are calling  
__When you are calling_

It wasn't long before they both dozed off, their coffees almost untouched.

"FINAL BOARDING FOR FLIGHT 1256 TO NEW YORK JFK. FINAL BOARDING FOR FLIGHT 1256 TO NEW YORK JFK."

Sebastian woke with a start at the sound of the boarding announcement, seeing the nearly empty gate area around them. He sat up, knocking Blaine's head up off his shoulder and saying urgently, "BLAINE. Wake up. They're closing the doors on your flight."

"Oh! Oh!" Blaine sat up, wild eyed.

Sebastian picked up the satchel by its handle and thrust it into Blaine's hands, along with his coat. He took a breath as it all sank in, looking into Blaine's eyes with intensity. "It's time to go, Killer."

Blaine was less lucid, still casting glances around the gate area. He turned toward the gate and stopped mid-step, whirling around and finally slowing down to look at Sebastian with tears in his eyes. He leaned in for a tender kiss, his coat and bag awkwardly separating them. Their lips urgently betrayed what they were afraid to say.

_[to see the kiss, see: imgurDOTcom/kUr2Gcb]_

Sebastian's arms wrapped tightly around him and Blaine whispered desperately in his ear. "Maybe we're over-thinking this? Can't we just be.."

Sebastian looked torn and was unable to speak. He had no idea what to say and felt wildly out of his depth. Instead of saying anything, he just kissed Blaine again, parting their lips and caressing Blaine's tongue with his own. Blaine kissed him back just as lovingly, clinging to him fervently.

"PAGING PASSENGER BLAINE ANDERSON, FOR AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT 1256 TO NEW YORK JFK."

They tore themselves apart and didn't say another word for fear of what they would say. Blaine rushed to the gate agent, apologizing, and after she scanned his boarding pass he walked quickly down the jetbridge to bring up the rear of the lineup of passengers. He turned around in the shadows of the darkened jetbridge, his face illuminated by the sparse but harsh lighting: _[to see what Sebastian saw, see: imgurDOTcom/kUr2Gcb]_

After a few moments Blaine attempted a sad smile and waved, moving up in the line a few times and turning back around to each time to smile and wave again.

Sebastian stood stiffly, unable to smile or wave until the last time Blaine turned around. He raised hand awkwardly and held it there until Blaine had to turn the corner.

_[to see poor Seb watching Blaine'd departure see imgurDOTcom/RqgTUfN]_

Sebastian stood staring at the empty bridge for a full minute. He walked up to the floor to ceiling window next to the gate and stared at the plane, wondering if Blaine had a window seat on the side of the plane facing him. He felt pathetic, but couldn't bring himself to tear away from his spot. He couldn't really see anyone through the small windows but he waited until the plane rolled away anyway. As he finally turned around, his phone sounded with Blaine's text-tone.

_ BLAINE: I'm not supposed to be texting. But I just wanted to say that I'm going to miss you so much. I'm sorry if this makes you weepy. Too bad. _

_ SEB: You have officially lost your own game._

_BLAINE: I really have to go. I'll try to call you when I get to New York. I hate you for sending me to Scotland this year._

_SEB: I'm gonna miss you too, Killer. _

Sebastian pocketed his phone as his eyes welled up and he started back through the terminal. _And that, _he thought, _is why I hate weepy goodbyes._

* * *

As the plane took off, Blaine tried not to think about Sebastian. He knew his physical exhaustion was making everything seem worse. He needed to sleep to get better perspective. He pulled the messenger bag out from under the seat in front of him. Opening the flap, he rummaged around for his inflatable plane pillow. Then his fingers touched unfamiliar, glossy paper. Peering into the dark bag, he saw a glint of gold as well. He reached in deeper and pulled out a flat, beautifully wrapped gift. A small, thick, cream-colored notecard was attached to the expensive satin ribbon. The note was in Sebastian's familiar scrawl:

_As promised, part two of your Christmas gift. I said you couldn't open it until you got back to Scotland, but since you aren't under my thumb anymore, I guess I can't stop you from opening it on the plane. It's not a big deal, just something to remind you to use part one of my gift. Don't let Sam get his big grubby fingerprints on it . _

_Yours, _

_Seb  
_

Blaine opened it slowly, wanting to savor the moment. Inside was a gorgeous silver Tiffany picture frame with an expensive canvas printed copy of the photo Nick took of Sebastian and Blaine on China Beach in San Francisco. Sebastian's arms engulfed Blaine from behind and Blaine's curls had been unleashed by the sea air. They were both looking sentimental and wistfully happy. Beautifully engraved on the bottom of the frame were the words, "Beauty and the Beast."

* * *

Sebastian shook his head as he bumped his knees trying to adjust the driver's seat of the Andersons' station wagon to fit his tall frame. The obvious song to play on the way home, he thought grimly, was the Mraz tear jerker. _If I'm going to be a weepy cliche today, I may as well play the part all the fucking way through,_ he thought:

_(__youtubeDOTcom/watch?v=FsVQzD6DSn8__)_

_When I look into your eyes  
__It's like watching the night sky  
__Or a beautiful sunrise  
__There's so much they hold  
__  
And just like them old stars  
__I see that you've come so far  
__To be right where you are  
__How old is your soul?  
__  
I won't give up on us  
__Even if the skies get rough  
__I'm giving you all my love  
__I'm still looking up  
__  
And when you're needing your space  
__To do some navigating  
__I'll be here patiently waiting  
__To see what you find  
__  
'Cause even the stars they burn  
__Some even fall to the earth  
__We've got a lot to learn  
__God knows we're worth it  
__No, i won't give up  
__  
I don't wanna be someone who walks away so easily  
__I'm here to stay and make the difference that i can make  
__Our differences they do a lot to teach us how to use  
__the tools and gifts_ w_e got yeah we got a lot at stake  
__  
And in the end, you're still my friend at least we did intend  
__For us to work we didn't break, we didn't burn  
__We had to learn, how to bend without the world caving in  
__I had to learn what i got, and what i'm not  
__And who i am  
__  
I won't give up on us  
__Even if the skies get rough  
__I'm giving you all my love  
__I'm still looking up  
__I'm still looking up_

* * *

When he got back to the Andersons' house, Sebastian opened the front door quietly so as to not alert Cooper to his arrival. He crept stealthily upstairs to the guest bedroom that had begun to feel like his own. He kicked off his shoes and lay down, knowing he should nap before beginning his travel back to Stanford. He closed his eyes, but sleep would not come. All he could see was Blaine's face on that jetbridge and all he could hear was the goddamned Jason Mraz song. He sat up, shaking himself. Shake it off, shake it off.

He picked up his phone and slid his way back to lean on the cushioned headboard. This could be a big mistake right now. But she was going to find out at some point, so he might as well get it over with.

He opened up his texting app.

_SEB: Hey._

_TANA: Hey._

_SEB: Well, he definitely doesn't think of me as a eunuch. __  
_

_TANA: I told you so! Took you long enough, Don Juan. So will it be a church wedding?_

_SEB: Slow down, Dolly. _

_TANA: Who the hell is Dolly, did you find yourself a new hag?_

_SEB: Dolly Levi, the matchmaker from Hello, Dolly - the musical. Aren't you supposed to have picked this stuff up by osmosis from Berry Shortcake and Princess Sparkly Brooch ? _

_TANA: Blaine's your boyfriend now, I think it's time you took it down a notch on Kurt . _

_SEB: Blaine's not my boyfriend._

Sebastian counted down: 3, 2, 1. Bingo - Santana's Yeastistat jingle ringtone.

He answered calmly, "Latina Lesbian Dating Service, how may I help you? If you're calling to sign up, I'm afraid we're not accepting any more ugly clients, so you'll have to call back in 3-6 months.."

Santana exploded. "What the hell do you mean, he's not your boyfriend?!"

Sebastian was unruffled. "We decided to wait."

"For what?"

"For him to be ready."

Santana still sounded frustrated. "Ready for what?"

"Ready for us to date."

"But you were already dating," she argued.

"No we weren't, and you know that."

"Come on, you pretty much were, Seb - the love letters, the hand holding, the cuddling, everything but the kissing and the humping. Now that you've done that, you've got the whole package. Why the hell aren't you giving Short Stack the boyfriend title? He's earned it."

Sebastian was calm and firm. "He doesn't want it ."

"What? No way..."

"We decided that he could use some more time on his own without having a boyfriend. Leave it alone."

"So you're friends with benefits? I don't think Blaine is going to…"

Sebastian tried to stay cool. "Tana you are now in the 'none of your godforsaken business' zone."

"Come on, now…" Santana coaxed.

He was getting irritated now. "Still not talking about it. So you can get off my case or I'm taking back that bling I got you for Christmas."

She kept wheedling. "Come on Seb, are you going to get to keep corrupting our bow-tied baby, or no? The blogosphere awaits a news update..."

He sounded weary. "Santana, stick to feminine hygiene product promotion. Even you are no match for Perez Hilton."

"Okay, fine - the activities of your bare ass aside, I still don't get you two not becoming Danny and Sandy. Really, did you make him do this no-boyfriend thing? If you are breaking Blaine's heart the entirety of the McKinley glee club, past and present, will hunt you down in that mangy little Stanford dorm room and rip your head off ."

Sebastian tried to bring heat to his voice but found he lacked the energy. He just sounded exhausted and annoyed. "You and your gang of public school morons can go back to your ghetto. I did not make him do anything. What Blaine and I decided to be the right thing for us is _between us_. So for the last time, back the hell off."

"If it's the right thing for you, then why do you sound like a weepy little girl right now? I swear, if you decided to put your precious reputation ahead of Blaine's bowtied heart..."

"On what planet would I try to hurt Blaine?!" Sebastian erupted. "Shut the fuck up, Santana!" Sebastian's voice choked on him and he also instantly knew he could never look Santana in the face again. He cursed himself for indeed sounding exactly like a weepy little girl.

She had never heard him sound like _that_ before. Santana was thrown but she strained to sound natural. "Fine, fine, Slick. You and little B are both grade A nerds, so I'll trust that you two got your gelled, brainiac heads together and came up with a dark, twisted and brilliant plan."

"Don't patronize me, Snix." Sebastian barked. "Yes we've figured out what we want, but I am in no mood to explain it to you and feel no need to justify it to anyone else. And if I sound…pissed off right now, it's because you're getting on my last nerve while I'm exhausted. I didn't sleep last night."

"You didn't sleep last night?" Santana teased, glad for a change of subject. "Ooohh…NICE. Oh wait…I should probably say 'naughty,' yes?"

Sebastian rolled his eyes. "Seriously, I don't even know why I picked up your call. I really only had the energy to text, and now that you've been harassing me I'm completely done. I'm taking a nap, so don't bug me until you come drag me out of bed when it's time to go."

"Fine, fine." Santana said, with a little more gentleness than usual. "Get some shut eye, Grouchy!Warbler."

* * *

When Santana rang, Cooper answered the door. "He's napping upstairs," he said, leading her up to the guest bedroom.

"You heard?" Cooper asked her as they reached the top of the staircase.

"Yeah," Santana answered. "So messed up."

"I'm with you, but Blaine is stubborn. I guess they have to take their own pace." Cooper shrugged.

Santana acknowledged his logic but still shook her head as she knocked on the guest room door.

No answer.

They knocked a few times, then opened the door and found Sebastian, still in his coat and still wearing his shoes, splayed out on top of the made bed.

Santana sat down next to him and shook him. "Seb, let's go, we gotta go catch your flight."

No response.

Santana shook him again. "SEB! We's gots to go! Your flight!"

Sebastian groaned, his eyes still closed, "Why does it have to be so friggin' hard?!"

Cooper chuckled. "I'll bring his bags out to the car." Santana gave Cooper her car keys with a nod. He took two bags and left the room.

Santana pushed the hair out of Sebastian's face. "Come on Twink, we can talk about it in the car."

"Tana, I'm gonna miss you so much," Sebastian slurred, his eyes still closed and holding her hand in both of his.

"What? I can't even understand you - have you been drinking?"

"No…" Sebastian threw an arm across his eyes. "I'm just tired. I guess I'm sleep drunk."

Santana chuckled and moved his arm out of his eyes. She patted his cheek. "What?"

"Blaine told me about it..." he slurred.

"Ok ok Slick, you can tell me all about it in the car. We gotta get going."

Sebastian was still half asleep and rambling, now pulling a throw pillow over his face. "But what if it was a pity fuck? Because of Christmas Eve when my dad stood me up? He said it wasn't a pity fuck because my dad yelled at me last night. But what if it was a pity fuck because of Christmas?"

Santana shook her head and took the throw pillow away. "Seb, it's really time to get up."

"But what if it was pity fuck? He's soooo nice. Maybe he was being nice." he whined, keeping his eyes squeezed shut.

Santana rolled her eyes. "Okay, how many days between Christmas and sex?"

Sebastian opened one eye halfway. "I don't know…7, 8?"

Santana said definitively, "Then definitely not a pity fuck. Too many days in between. Now get up!" she poked at his ribs.

"Argh!" Sebastian wriggled and finally sat up, squinting. "You're mean. I'm not gonna miss you that much after all."

* * *

Sebastian and Santana were silent for the entire drive to the airport, Sebastian dozing when he wasn't staring out the window, glassy eyed. Santana pulled up to the airport curb and got out to walk around to the trunk where Sebastian was pulling out luggage and putting it on the curb. She finally spoke. "I'll try to come out and see ya next month."

"You'd better, or I'm trading you in for Quinn. Better educated."

"Wanker!"

"Wench!"

They hugged. Sebastian was turning to leave when Santana gave his arm a good humored squeeze. "So, does your heart feel like it's been ripped out of your chest?"

"That sounds about right," Sebastian raised an eyebrow at her.

"Yeah, that's feelings after sex. Welcome to the big time."

Sebastian grunted and walked away with his luggage rolling behind him. "Bitch!" he called.

"Whore!" she yelled after him, laughing. "Call me!"

* * *

_Hey everyone, hope you survived this chapter! I tried to sprinkle in as much humor as I could, but I must admit the Seblaine feels kind of took over. Please let me know what you think, I'm curious how many angst lovers are out there vs. fluff lovers! Our Beta Readers, Dori, Thomas and Rose are a mix, which is good for your sakes I think!_

_We look forward to hearing what you liked, didn't like, what your analysis is of the chapter, etc. For example, was there too much painful or boring dialogue at the airport? I was trying to show how they care for each other and how each of them sway back and forth on the decision a bit. Which bits did you find the funniest in this chapter? Were there parts that moved you, touched you, made you upset or sad? What are you most curious about going forward? What would you like to see most going forward (not promises we will make them happen, but they will all be considered!)_

_Thanks again for reading, and for the favoriting, kudos, reviews and comments. Keep them coming, they keep us motivated to keep cranking out this story for you! Until next time!_


	16. Interlude: Link to Story Soundtrack

Hi everyone,

I don't have a new chapter yet, but in the meantime enjoy our I'm Gonna Miss You Too soundtrack on You Tube: youtubeDOTcom/playlist?list=PL7KGBxnHJ3GWJSnR7GyU8C4iwtXD2awqh&feature=em-share_playlist_user (obviously sub out "DOT" in this address with a ".")

It includes nearly all songs mentioned in the story to date, which is a mix of current pop, 80's tunes, showtunes, and a sprinkling of Motown, She and Him Christmas songs, and blues. So basically the genres are those you hear on Glee, which should be no surprise :).

It is incomplete of course, as the story is still in progress, so this playlist will expand as I continue writing the story. Hope you enjoy it, my hope is that the songs bring you back good memories from the story (roadtrip, San Francisco, karaoke at The Tavern, Christmas Eve with Seb's Nina and Seblaine, New Year's Eve, Blaine's birthday party, etc. etc.).

Eventually I'll compile a full Christmas Album from this story as well, but since the season is not upon us, I'll take my time doing that.

Enjoy! Also please review the music of this story - not many of you have commented on it in your reviews! Which songs were your favorites, which felt most fitting to the plot at that point in the story? Any songs you could do without?

Cheers,

TiburonWriter


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